NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT-POST MDG 2015 AGENDA Sierra Leone

CONCEPT NOTE

Organizers: Lead: Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors Co-Lead: Worldview Mission & Democracy Sierra Leone

A collaboration effort of Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors, Democracy Sierra Leone (DSL) & Worldview Mission

THEME: "Putting Young People at the Heart of Sustainable Development"

Venue: British Council Hall, Freetown Sierra Leone

Date: January to 21st March, 2013

Time: 10am-4:30pm prompt

BACKGROUND:

The Issues: The priority of the 21st Century has been ending poverty as the central purpose of development. Top objectives have included peace and security; and democracy and human rights. With only less than 3 years to the end of MDGs in 2015, poverty remains a major global challenge and priority. What then would be the most effective way to take the international development agenda forward after 2015? 

KEY Questions to be Addressed during Summit

What have been the major hindrances and challenges in West Africa towards achieving the MDGs? Where did we do it wrong? 

What role have young people played in promoting youth-led development towards achieving the MDGs?  Even after our efforts of 12 years trying to eradicate poverty, why do we still have more than 218 million

people living in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa?  Are our countries committed and doing enough to creating decent jobs and reducing

youth unemployment?  What can we do between now and 2015, in a collaboration between the young people, governments,

development partners, civil society and other stakeholders, to meet some of MDGs targets and making sure that all is not lost and we did our best. 

As it is their right, how will we ensure and support West African youth participation in the national, regional and international consultations onPost-2015 Development Agenda and their inputs included in its formulation

What are the priorities of West African Youth in the Post-2015 Agenda? 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:    1. To bring together youth activists to review the attainment of MDGs in Sierra Leone and west Africa, develop strategies for accelerating the achievement of the MDGs and plan for the Post-2015 Development Framework. 2. To strengthen partnership within youth organizations in the region to implement MDGs based projects. 3. To create a platform for young people to learn and share their best practices in their actions towards achieving the MDGs. 4. To mobilize and motivate young people to actively get involved in the ongoing national, regional and international consultations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. 5. To Present an African Youth Declaration on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. 

OUTCOME  

1. Present an West African Youth Declaration on Post 2015 MDG and the Sierra Leone Agenda for prosperity

2. Come up with a youth-led strategy on advocacy and action projects to undertake in accelerating the achievement of MDGs in West Africa  3. Creation of Provincial Youth Working Groups that will facilitate collaboration with the Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors, Democracy Sierra Leone, Worldview Mission, Government and UN Country Teams to actively get involved in the post-2015 development framework 

 4. Identify organization that are youth oriented in supporting new and innovative ideas on MDGs and upscale the existing ones in each of the regions in various thematic areas with focus on rural development and poverty eradication. 

5. Prioritizing investment in youth as key drivers of development.

Participatory Outreach

a. MDGs and Post-2015 Youth Survey: The aim is for Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors to share their thoughts on what needs to be done to tackle extreme poverty and their issues and priorities that need to beFocused on in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. We have patterned with other youth organizations to develop a youth- friendly questionnaire to be used in the survey, via online and offline platforms. This aims to mobilize young people to participate in the Agenda and share their inputs through their experiences.  

b. Social Media Mobilization and youth Engagement: Extensive social media will be used before, during and after the conference. Young people being technologically  receptive  and excited about engagement through social median and networks, can greatly develop interest in Post 2015 Agenda an and contribute to an online based initiativeand support its cause. We will use Face Book, Twitter, Blogs, online mapping as tools to mobilize the young West Africans to get actively engaged in the consultations.  The social media will also be used to generate and vote for 10 innovative ideas that will earn 10 participants conference sponsorship.  

c. Media Campaign:  There will be campaigns and awareness creation processes in Televisions and radio stations. Through the talk and call in shows, we anticipate reaching a bigger audience, taking stock on MDGs achievements and raising an interest in citizen engagement in Post 2015 Development Agenda. We will also send press releases and communiqué about the need for youth rolesand participation in the Post 2015 Agenda. We will invite young Africans to come up with essays articulating their views on Post 2015 and MDGs. The best 10 essays will be published online and in the conference package booklet. 

d. University debate/symposium: We will hold a 3 hour debate in University of Sierra Leone as part of the preparatory process to engage the students in the Post 2015 Agenda. The symposium will focus on how the students can contribute to the MDGs through innovations and creativity.   

e. Postcards/stickers:  Youth Millennium Development Summit-Post MDG 2015 Agenda Sierra Leone These will be used to pass different messages about MDGs and Post 2015 Agenda, more so for the offline community. The stickers will be pinned on the conference package folders, vehicles and laptops. The postcards will be printed and distribute to youth to write their message on how they want the Post-2015 Framework to look it and the message will be passed to the leaders and decision makers.

The conference will include the following activities:

Plenary Session: It will include keynote speeches and panel discussions.  This will be an opportunity for the youth delegates to engage on a one on one dialogue with representatives from the Government, UN Agencies, Civil Society, Development Partners and Academicians. Also to engage with the Special Adviser to the Secretary General in Post 2015, an appointee to the High Level Advisory Panel and a Co-Chair of Beyond 2015 Campaign.   Presentations: They will introduce the delegates to the Post- 2015 Agenda, the ongoing consultations, calendar of events, position of African CSOs and how they can participate in the process.  

Workshops: To run by young people and other partners including the Civil Societies, Development organizations and UN Agencies so that the delegates can learn and develop skills which they feel are important to them. It will be an opportunity to share best practices, showcase innovation and develop partnership to working together after the conference. 

Group Discussions: The delegates will share their country experiences and their priorities as young people in the Post-2015 Agenda. Their recommendations will feed in the Declaration to be released in the last day.  African Cultural and Peace Event: during the last dinner, there will be an African cultural and peace night. The aim of this is to showcase the unique African cultures, talents and diversity. The event will be led by Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors in partnership with Worldview Mission and will be aimed at advocating for appreciation of our differences, values and heritage for a prosperous Africa. There will also be a recitation of peace pledge by the participants. The event will be used to commission the participants as Youth and Millennium Development Ambassadors and also pass a strong message for peace to Sierra Leonean leaders to ensure peaceful Democracy and transition.   The conference will also be streamed live on social media to allow for wider participations and contributions of African youths in various parts of the world. There will be a blog for the participants to share their success stories in tackling MDGs in their respective communities. A daily e-Newsletter capturing the days’ events and outcomes will be published and circulated to the global audience. We will also set up a blogging room with computers connected to internet for the participants to blog, update Facebook status and tweet to share the key messages and their thoughts to other youth. 

The process for developing the post-2015 framework

With the 2015 MDG deadline fast approaching, the UN Secretary-General has outlined the UN-led process to determine the post-2015 development framework. To contribute to the UN system-wide effort, the UNDG has been asked to: 1) facilitate national consultations in at least 50 countries; 2) hold global thematic consultations on key issues pertaining to the post-2015 development agenda; and 3) create a web portal for interaction and information exchange. The results of these efforts will serve as input to the work of the High-Level Panel to be named by the Secretary-General after the Rio+20 conference in June 2012.

The global thematic consultations will be organized in partnership with civil society, academia, the private sector and decision makers and will be based on the following nine topics:

Inequalities; Population; Health; Education; Growth & Employment; Conflict & Fragility; Governance; Environmental Sustainability; Food Security and Nutrition.

The thematic consultation on Governance in particular is a response to an increasing demand from various actors over the past few years, especially civil society1, to discuss governance and accountability bottlenecks in the context of the MDGs, and how these gaps could be addressed in a new global development framework. As with all global thematic consultations, this consultation will feed into the UN’s overall post-2015 process and provides the opportunity to advocate for meaningful participation through global outreach which factors in national and local priorities shaped by multiple stakeholders, and championing the universal rights and values enshrined in its charter.

See, for example, IDS/CAFOD, ‘100 Voices – Southern Voices on What should come after the MDGs’, http://www.cafod.org.uk/100voices

 

1

Conference Follow-up 

a. Youth Ambassadors Working Group on Post 2015  Development AgendaThe conference is just the start of youth participation in the Post-2015 Development Agenda and acceleration of the achievement of MDGs by 2015. We will form a Youth Working Group on Post-2015 comprising of representatives from different organizations to ensure that our Declaration is presented to the High Level Panel on Post 2015. The group will also ensure our strategy of participation is implemented. Also work in close collaboration with the UNAIDS, UNFPA the Government and UNDP and ensure the opinions of youth are well articulated in the high level meetings. They will also work on a fundraising strategy to ensure African youth have resources to effectively participate in the consultations.

The conference organizers will cater for all participants’ accommodation, meals and internal transport during the conference days. Participants are responsible for their own travel costs from their country of origin to Sierra Leone and we encourage all applicants to start fundraising and seeking sponsorship to cover for this. We are however fundraising and talking to various organizations to sponsor disadvantaged and marginalized young people to enable their participations. 

More details will be available soon. Kindly indicate in the nomination letter if you need sponsorship or are able to fund yourself. 

Participants are responsible for their own personal expenses. Disadvantaged youth, those living with disabilities and from indigenous communities are encouraged to apply and we have reserved 5 slots per region for this category. 

The selection process will be open and transparent to provide every young leader with an opportunity to take part in the conference. We will then select those to be invited based on: 

 

Experience in youth leadership and advocacy 

Knowledge of the MDGs and the Post-2015 Agenda 

Track record of a young Change maker. 

Age of between 15-35 years. 

Gender representation.  

Two participants from each region will be selected, total to 10, based on innovative entrepreneurial ideas on tackling MDGS. There will be 5 slots per region reserved for persons with disability, minority groups and indigenous people while considering gender is mainstreamed in the youth participation.  

It is expected that 200 youth leaders, with equal gender representation, will take part in the conference. We will also invite some key role players involved in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, such as: Ministers responsible of youth, African Union Commission/Youth Division, Regional Economic Communities, UN Agencies, Civil Society concerned with youth development and  Development Partners.  

The Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors will constitute the Secretariat while the regional coordinators will be a male and female selected by each regional/province participant. The other participants will be National Coordinators.    The working groups, whose mandate runs to 2015, will be formed as part of the sustainability plan of the conference outcome. The working groups will help in pushing and advocating for the inclusion of the declaration and also act as a follow up unit of the conference recommendations.  The Coordinators will also help in carrying out research on issues affecting youth development which can be a formidable basis to engage with governments for policies and political imprimatur and support.  The coordinators will also send their progress reports on quarterly basis that are sanctioned by the organizations their represent. These reports will be shared with all the conference stakeholders. 

b. Innovative MDG Entrepreneurial Projects With only less than 3 years left to 2015, there is need to upscale the acceleration  in achievement of the MDGs with priority on supporting youth- led development and Green Economy. We will call an application for young change makers to submit their ideas and projects. The ten best ideas, 2 from each region, will be funded for implementation and the young change maker will receive a full sponsorship to attend the conference and present his/her idea. Selection of the best ideas will be based on their uniqueness, innovation, creativity and sustainability and focusing on achieving any of the 7 MDGs with greater impact.  We are seeking potential partners who may fund these ideas to ensure their success. Youth Ambassadors will work with the partners in monitoring and evaluating the projects to ensure their success.

c. Social Media:  A blog and social media portal will be set up to track the activities of the participants and their engagements in Post 2015 Agenda. This will help in monitoring the outcome of the conference, knowledge sharing and collaborative development through community informatics. The tools will also be used to share the information on Post 2015 Dialogues, events and outcomes.  d. Annual Conference on Sustainable Development: As a follow up process, the conference will culminate into an Annual African Conference on Sustainable Development hosted by a different African country each year. The Annual conference will focus on success stories of sustainable development and a Pan African based dialogues on African Future and the role of young people in development. It will be used to track the achievement of MDGs and Award the most innovative and successful youth-led projects. 

e. Five & Five Campaign  Youth Ambassadors Lead by Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors and Democracy Sierra Leone, the campaign aims Popularize the Youth Decade Plan of Action and the African Youth Charter amongst the youth and mobilize them through targeted activities which would consist of getting involved in the implementation of the DPoA. The campaign motto will be titled “Five & Five”, referring to the five years since the Youth Decade was declared in 2009 and five years before it expires in 2018.

f. Youth Rise to End Poverty initiativeThe idea is about mobilizing and supporting young people to wake up and address the pressing multiple challenges facing our region. It provides the possibility of young people’s minds

Working together and pulling hands in the same direction to be able to stay a step ahead of the challenges of poverty, scarcity and sustainability. The initiative focuses on six priority areas which include: Green jobs; sustainable agriculture production; education for sustainable development; sustainable energy; promoting ICTs; and youth participation in decision making process. As we invest in youth, they will invest in themselves.

PARTICIPANTS LOGISTICAL SUPPORT We are fund raising to fully sponsor the disadvantaged participants including their air travel to and from their countries to ensure that we get the young people from diverse groups such as the marginalized , the disabled and those from rural Areas who are most affected by poverty. The participants will be provided with transport from the airport and to and from the conference venue. We will cater for all participants’ accommodation, meals and internal transport during the days of the conference. Support services will also be provided for the disabled people and also provide translations for French speaking participants. 

COORDINATIONThe Youth Millennium Development Ambassadors Initiative is working in partnership with Democracy Sierra Leone the Government and partners in Sierra Leone to host the conference. We have formed a coordinating team and partnered with UNAIDS Sierra Leone; a youth led CSO, to facilitate the preparations and conference organizing support. We are working closely with the Global CSOs involved in the Post-2015 Agenda to ensure we all promote youth participation in the process.  

PARTNERSHIPS Worldview Mission, Democracy Sierra Leone, UNAIDS. We are seeking partnerships from organizations concerned and have an interest in youth development and empowerment to contribute with their technical, material and finances to support and ensure the successfully hosting of the conference.   It is our belief that the partnership will culminate into a mutually beneficial engagement for the stakeholders. Kindly contact us for further discussion on various forms of partnerships.  

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Summit will be monitored and evaluated by United Nations Development Programs UNDP, UNAIDS, UNFPA and the National Youth Commission of Sierra Leone. The Summit will request one representative from both institutions to help in this monitoring and evaluating process to ensure transparency and accountable justification of funds allocated for the event. A compressive report will also be sent to all donors and partner institutions after the conclusion of the event on the 24th March, 2013.