“Your generation is the largest the world has ever known,” Mr. Ban told young people taking part in the Global Interactive Dialogue on UN Youth Initiatives. “The tools at your disposal for communicating and acting are unprecedented. But so are the challenges – from growing inequalities and shrinking opportunities, to the threats of climate change and environmental degradation.”

Mr. Ban’s Five-Year Action Plan has as one of its priorities working for and with young people. As part of this commitment, Mr. Ban appointed his first ever Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, earlier this year.

I am fully committed to working with youth and exploring how you can contribute more to creating a sustainable, equitable future of opportunity and dignity for all.

“Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi is working with different UN entities, governments, civil society, academia and the media to empower youth within and outside the UN system,” Mr. Ban said, adding that Mr. Alhendawi’s website, launched today, will also serve as an Online Platform for Youth, through which young people can voice their concerns to the UN.

“I am fully committed to working with youth and exploring how you can contribute more to creating a sustainable, equitable future of opportunity and dignity for all,” Mr. Ban said.

He added that Mr. Alhendawi is working with the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development to bring all parts of the UN together under an action plan for youth.

The plan, which is partly based on the My World survey carried out among thousands of youth from around the world earlier this year, focuses on five thematic areas: employment and entrepreneurship; political inclusion; civic engagement and protection of rights; education, including comprehensive sexual education; and health.

Other initiatives include UN youth volunteer programmes and forums where youth can engage with the UN at the national, regional and global levels.

The interactive dialogue also features the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin; the Acting Head of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Lakshmi Puri; the Special Representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Youth and Social Inclusion, Charles Dan; and the Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Arab States of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Sima Bahous.

The post UNITED NATIONS: Chief Hears Concerns from Young People Across the World first appeared on MissionNewswire.

With a focus on families living in poverty, the summer camps provide education, cultural and recreational classes and a chance for hundreds of youth to participate within their communities.

Nearly one fourth of Brazilians live in poverty and 6.6 percent live in extreme poverty, according to a UNESCO report. While Brazil is making positive changes, there are still large gaps between the poor and the rich. Inequalities remain in access to education and educational efficiency. These inequalities are greatest for children and youth who are poor, live in rural areas or who have an incomplete compulsory education.

“The gap in opportunity for rich and poor continues to be very wide in Brazil, even with government efforts,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “We are seeing that youth who are already at a social or economic disadvantage fall even further behind because of a lack of access to quality education.”

Each year in Recife Province about 30 camps are organized for thousands of youth. Close to 1,000 volunteer leaders are involved in the development and execution of the camps, including many Salesians.

This year fewer camps were run in the Province due to lack of local support and available resources being diverted to the upcoming World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

Even with the drop in numbers, the Salesian camps continue to positively impact their students. New camps were organized in locations where previously no camps existed, such as in Salvador de Bahia where 30 youth between the ages of 12 and 14 years participated and in Carpina, Pernambuco where 40 youth organized a camp for 250 children. Three hundred young people attended camp in Juazeiro, Ceará and close to 400 in João Pessoa, Paraíba.

“The summer camps are a great opportunity for youth to continue their education and build relationships within their communities,” adds Fr. Hyde. “We want youth to lead happy productive lives and the summer camps help us to further their education, teach values and help youth on the road to a brighter future.”

Learn more about Salesian Missions programs in Brazil >

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Sources

ANS – Brazil – Salesian summer camps

UNSCO – Statistics in Brazil

The post BRAZIL: Summer Camps Provide Education for Youth in Brazil first appeared on MissionNewswire.

Salesian Youth Day was organized by the Youth Ministry Sector and the Salesian Youth Movement of the Province of Campo Grande. It was held at the Universidade Católica Dom Bosco.

The event, which brings together youth leaders from as young as ten years old to those in their late twenties, focused on conferences and workshops dealing with the identity and the mission of the Salesian Youth Movement. It also served as a review of the main events to be held at World Youth Day which will include the feast celebration, the continental meeting and the World Forum.

The first day of the event ended with a talk on youth missionary activities by Monsieur Eduardo Pinheiro da Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Campo Grande and President of the Youth Ministry Commission of the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil.

“The great challenge for us Salesians and for the whole church is the accompaniment of the young”, said Monsieur Pinheiro da Silva during his talk. “We have large meetings which are marvelous. People get worked up and enthusiastic but when we return to our centers young people need to be encouraged further to give continuity to the mission.”

The four-day event had workshops that focused on the challenges and opportunities for youth leadership, the situation of indigenous youth in society and youth criminal activity in Mato Grosso. There was also a roundtable discussion on Salesian youth missionary voluntary service.

The workshops and the round table discussions were broadcast live on the internet and youth utilized social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to discuss the talks and post photos and other material shared at the event.

With the approaching World Youth Day the Salesian Youth Movement in Brazil has made its website live. The site gives a history of the youth movement and provides information about various Salesian events which will take place in the context of World Youth Day, such as the Salesian Youth Movement celebration, the continental meeting and the Pre-World Youth Day. The texts are available in five languages including Portuguese, Italian, English, Spanish and French.

Sources:

ANS – The site of the Salesian Youth Movement is on-line

ANS – Salesian Youth Day

Salesian Youth Day – Event website

World Youth Day – Event website

The post BRAZIL: Salesians Hold Youth Day in Brazil in Preparation for World Youth Day 2013 first appeared on MissionNewswire.