| International Youth Parliament
- Striving for an equitable,
sustainable and peaceful world
By Sofiah MacKay and Sarika Seki
Hussey
The International Youth Parliament (IYP)
is a global network of young activists
and social change agents who work at
the global, national and local levels
to effect positive social change. As
Soraya Mentoor, 24, South African IYP
Action Partner, puts it: "Youth
are the leaders of today, and not tomorrow.
We are assets, not liabilities. We are
solutions _ not a problem to be solved."
We use the word parliament in our name
in a symbolic sense. Parliament represents
a space in which community agendas are
set, strategies are developed to address
key issues, and decisions made. It is
a space from which young people have
traditionally been excluded. As such,
the IYP represents a reclaiming of that
space _ an active response to some of
the key issues that face our world.
The three key action areas for the
International Youth Parliament are conflict,
breaking the poverty cycle, and cultural
activism.
From neighbourhood disputes to war
between countries, we must choose whether
we want to let the conflict around us
continue or be part of the solution,
and find methods that are culturally
appropriate and adapted to the specific
situation.
"Sometimes I ask myself, what
does peace look like, and what will
happen if suddenly we have peace?"
The question is one posed by IYP Action
Partner Stella Matutina Herny Bagho,
29, from Sudan, a nation ravaged by
decades of civil war. She was recently
involved in the historical first African
Youth Parliament bringing together young
social change agents to develop youthful
solutions for key challenges in Africa.
Elnara Babayeva, 21, an IYP Action
Partner from Azerbaijan, and founder
of an NGO called Lighthouse, is currently
working on an income-generating project
for displaced young Azeri women, living
in camps for people forced to flee from
territories of Nagorno-Karabakh held
by neighbouring Armenia. "The crucial
point is that I didn't give up, when
facing a lot of obstacles in my work.
My strong motivation helped me to start
a new organization and manage with a
number of other activities."
Young people are devising ways of breaking
the poverty stranglehold. In the
view of Thanh Han Tran, 16, from Vietnam,
"eradication of poverty should
be more important than anything. The
best strategy is education".
Ana Maria Marin, 29, a journalist and
IYP Action Partner, from Colombia adds:
"Globalization is creating new
boundaries and strengthening the existing
frontiers. What do the so called `First
world' know about us? Private enterprises
know about our natural resources, governments
know about our debts, ordinary citizens
know about our problems and failures.
For many reasons we have narrow and
erroneous perceptions about each other."
Ana Maria recently developed a project
called Crafts for Economy and Peace
in partnership with the NGO Corporacion
Paz y Democracia, to ensure safe
and sustainable livelihoods for 10 young
female leaders, ex-combatants and victims
of her country's armed conflict. The
project supported by IYP's small grants
programme, trains young women in both
conflict resolution skills, handicrafts
and small business skills to help them
earn money.
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| Uniting for a better world.
© Claude Sandler |
In today's rapidly urbanizing world
where our cities and towns set the cultural
trends, the IYP recognizes the fundamental
importance of culture in the establishment
of young people's identities and their
ability to contribute effectively to
the future evolution of our societies.
To promote cultural activism, the IYP
is working in partnership with UNESCO
to produce a youth friendly version
of the universal declaration on cultural
diversity. Cultural diversity workshops
have been held around the world to engage
and inspire young people so that they
discuss key issues and develop projects
aimed at supporting diverse and peaceful
communities.
Norma Elvira Carias Montiel, 29, a
Honduran IYP Action Partner, said: "There
is no `Honduran' identity, as everyone
wants to behave and to be other than
Honduran... It's sad to see such things
like TV programmes in my country that
promote consumerism and poor values."
Recently, the youth parliament launched
a Youth Commission into Globalization.
In a new report soon to be published,
young authors will raise the issues
that concern them most: Access to and
privatization of education, HIV/AIDS,
young workers in Export Processing Zones,
the trafficking of young women, indigenous
youth, vulnerability of agricultural
youth, violence and young people's security,
globalization of youth activism and
human rights, technology, water, and
global culture and identity.
The report is intended for decision-makers
in government, corporations, multilateral
institutions and NGOs as well as for
individuals. It will carry an action
agenda with recommendations for specific
changes to reduce the negative impact
of globalization and enhance the positive
aspects.
Ms Marin, Thanh Han Tran, Ms Babayeva,
Ms Mentoor, Ms Bahgo and Norma Elvira
Carias Montiel, are among the 250 IYP
Action Partners who are at the heart
of IYP's global youth network. The parliament,
an initiative of Oxfam International
based in Oxfam Australia, was convened
for the first time in Sydney in 2000
to seek youthful solutions to local
and global challenges. They were selected
according to their ability to effect
change at home in their local environments.
They are currently enacting over 400
action plans around the world and are
networked by Internet e-lists to
support them in implementing change
globally and on the ground. In a recent
survey, 72 per cent of them reported
their action plans to be either completed
or ongoing.
What began as an action focused event,
has evolved into a vibrant global network
of young activists and development workers,
operating under the banner of equity,
sustainability and peace.
Sofiah Mackay, 27, is the International
Youth Parliament Programme Coordinator.
Sarika Seki Hussey, 29, is a UN-HABITAT
Associate Human Settlements Officer
and IYP Action Partner from Japan.
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