Happy (belated) International Youth Day!
Adolescents and young people are some of the most powerful agents of change on this planet. Prior to attending graduate school, I spent two incredible years living in the Canadian arctic while working directly with Inuit youth. Working with teenagers is especially magical because adolescents, despite their reputation of being stubborn and difficult, are so much more open minded than the adults that often end up making decisions on their behalf. The students I worked with consistently impressed me with their willingness to challenge what has been sold to them as the truth and stand up for what they think is right.
As such, I've been thrilled to have the opportunity to work with young people again through my work this summer at UNFPA. Like the youth I worked with in Canada, Senegalese young people are tenacious, passionate, and a force for change in their country. UNFPA helps young people not only make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health, but about their relationships, their education, and their career. This commitment has been articulated in the newly released UNFPA youth strategy entitled My Body, My Life, My World.
The voices of youth in Senegal and across West and Central Africa were recently amplified at an event organized by UNFPA and the African Youth and Adolescents Network on Population and Development (AfriYAN) entitled "25 Hours of Dakar." This event, organized for the visit of UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem, was an opportunity for young people in Senegal and Wet and Central Africa to make their voices heard, especially considering the upcoming Nairobi Summit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Young people representing 23 African countries delivered a declaration to Dr. Kanem, who promised that their message would be delivered to world leaders this November in Nairobi. I put together a short video of the event here:
It has been so much fun to work again with youth and adolescents. The energy surrounding these types of events is always particularly inspiring and makes me feel as though I'm definitely in the right field.