REPORT
THE FIRST
YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION
July 21-30, 2000
California State Polytechnic University in
Pomona, California, USA
INTRODUCTION
The
First Young General Assembly Session began in July 1997 when Mia Handshin of
the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia in Adelaide volunteered to host
the international meeting to be held in the year 2000. To prepare for this, a
delegation of four young Australians from the Youth Affairs Council of South
Australia came to the international meeting in San Francisco in July 1999 to
help write the Charter for the Young General Assembly. The meeting schedule had
been planned by the PEACEWAYS Executive Planning Committee and was to use the
group process that has always been used at World Summit of Children meetings- a
process through which the creativity and spontaneity natural to teen-agers can
flourish. This process was described in the information packets sent out ahead
of the San Francisco meeting. The Australians stopped the orientation meeting
and decided they should conduct the week-long charter-writing meeting. This
would prepare them for conducting the meeting in 2000. However, the Australians
had not studied the information packets sent ahead of time and decided to
employ Parliamentary Procedure. The young people were not responding, and the
Australians observed and commented upon this, but they stayed with the process
they had selected. After a week of Parliamentary Procedure, the Charter was not
complete enough to sustain an international organization, so the Charter was
developed further during an internet conference in which none of the
Australians participated. The Youth Affairs Council of South Australia had
appointed Mia Handshin as Convener for the 2000 First Young General Assembly
Session. All inquiries and communication were to go through Mia. However, due
to a heavy traveling and university class schedule Mia did not communicate with
PEACEWAYS. It was later discovered that in January 2000 the Youth Affairs
Council of South Australia Planning Committee decided they would not be able to
host the First Young General Assembly Session in July. However, during phone
calls to Mia in January, February and March nothing was mentioned about the
committee’s decision. During a phone call to Mia in mid April, only 85 days
before the Assembly Session was to take place, she revealed the Australian
committee’s decision not to host the event.
PEACEWAYS immediately conferred with its Executive Planning
Committee at International Polytechnic High School, in Pomona, USA and the
young people said that the 10 years of work by thousands of young people
worldwide must not “go down the drain.” They decided they would take on the
challenge of hosting the First Young General Assembly Session. Elsa Martinez,
Principal, and Lucille Berger, in charge of international affairs at I-Poly,
gave their permission and Dee Ann Matthews and Costa Singer agreed to be the
meeting coordinators. A friend of I-Poly High School, Arthur Jokela, set about
to find a residential meeting site and make connections for possible funding.
Through a presentation for funding to the Kiwanis Club, Betty Rippey became
interested and extremely helpful in making contacts to get donations for what
the young people needed. The young people began to refer to Arthur as the Young
General Assembly’s “Magician” and Betty became known as the Young General
Assembly’s “Fairy Godmother.” The community and California State Polytechnic
University President Suzuki and administrators stepped forward and through a
series of miracles, the meeting was successfully organized on a “shoe string”
budget in the “eleventh hour.”
THE UNITED
STATES CONGRESS ACTIVELY PREVENTS YOUNG PEOPLE FROM COMING TO THE UNITED STATES
TO LEARN THE SKILLS THEY NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNITIES
There were 94 young people from overseas registered for the First
Young General Assembly Session. Sixty-two of those (65% of those registered)
were denied visas by United States embassies in 21 countries: Afghanistan,
Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Colombia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, India,
Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Romania,
Russia, and Sierra Leone. Visas were denied because young people ages 12-18
were not married, did not have children, did not own property and did not have
large bank accounts-which are the criteria which the US Congress decided will
guarantee that people will return home and not stay in the US illegally. The US
Congress makes the immigration laws that the US Embassies follow. Hopefully the
US Congress will take up this issue soon and realize that information and
training vital to global development is NOT being received in areas around the
world where it is most needed. As a result of the US visa policies, the Young
General Assembly delegates never want to have another meeting in the United
States.
Twenty nine young people did not get the funding promised to them
(25% of those registered from overseas) Only 10% of those from overseas arrived
in Pomona. Only seven countries were represented, but each one of the 55
dynamic participants who came demonstrated their commitment to creating a
better world every minute during the working sessions. The business at hand was
their uppermost priority. They had a huge agenda. They accomplished a lot and
had fun doing it.
THE PREPARATORY MEETINGS
The Young General Assembly Charter sets aside two days before the
opening plenary of the Assembly Session so delegates can have the opportunity
to learn communication and leadership skills, give reports about their
organizational activities, discuss global issues and set up working committees
to design projects to alleviate these issues and also to select one ambassador
from each country who is under 18 and speaks English. It is the Ambassadors who
speak and vote at the Assembly plenary sessions. Everyone has a voice in the
working sessions.
These two days were spent in the Common Room of the John T. Lyle
Center for Regenerative Studies on the California State Polytechnic University
in Pomona. The meeting began with a vision activity, in which the participants
each mentally created their vision of how the Young General Assembly can help
to change the future. Then, in small groups, the participants shared their
visions and drew their visions on large paper. The unity of ideas expressed
helped the young people deeply feel a sense of common purpose and an
environment of trust was initiated.
The organizational reports were interesting and many participants
asked questions. The belief at the core of the Young General Assembly was well
verified: young people ARE a dynamic force for positive change in this world!
The organizational reports that had been e mailed from people who could not get
visas were also read.
International Polytechnic High School (I-Poly) on the campus of
California State Polytechnic University (Cal-Poly) is a public school that
develops peaceful people. It does this through an educational process focused
on group work in every course. Teachers serve as guides and resource people and
assign the tasks to small groups of students. The students decide how they want
to complete the task and demonstrate their knowledge by giving a presentation
to the other students who learn from the presentation. Then they evaluate
themselves so they will do better next time. By learning daily in this way, the
teen-agers are involved in meaningful conversation all day long. They must stay
in the groups to which they are assigned and learn to get along with people
they don’t necessarily like. Communication skills, problem solving skills,
presentation skills, and evaluation skills become second nature to I-Poly
students and prepare them well for life. Problems are “no problem” to these
students and they know how to disagree agreeably and to stay focused on the task
at hand. Every day at I-Poly, students and staff are living the skills needed
to be peaceful people who can build a peaceful world.
The I-Poly students conducted sessions on communication, group
process and project designing at the preparatory meetings. An I-Poly parent.
Mrs. Sharp, began a session to help the young people design a logo for the
Young General Assembly- a difficult thing to do in a group. The developers of
the Young General Assembly had been attempting to design a logo since 1995. The
participants decided to focus on the opening words of the Young General
Assembly Charter, “In the name of love, unity and harmony…” which are the
opening words of the very first document written at the first PEACEWAYS
conference which began the ten year process that culminated in Pomona. It was
decided more time was needed, so the logo designing process was continued
during the week. A Logo Committee was formed and consisted of delegates
Karpagam Balakrishnan, Zac Beus, Brosie Davidsen, Maria Guerrero, Briton Hurdle
and Colin Sharp. The result was the logo that appears on the cover of this
report: a child and an adult supporting the world in loving partnership framed
with the triangle of love, unity and harmony.
At the end of the two-day preparatory meetings, the young delegates
felt at ease with each other and felt prepared to begin the business of running
an international organization.
YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROCEDURE
The Young General Assembly chose its name because it wants to
assist, advise and partner with the United Nations General Assembly in its role
to bring about a peaceful, sustainable world. It has no intention of simulating
the General Assembly. Therefore, Parliamentary Procedure was not selected as
the process by which Young General Assembly
meetings are to be conducted because it stifles the spontaneity of
young people. I-Poly students conducted the meeting using elements of their
group process. This process was adopted as the formal procedure to be used in
future Assembly
Sessions. This non-parliamentary procedure calls for group members
to share the responsibility of conducting a meeting by assuming Group Roles and
rotating the Roles so many people have a chance to lead.
GUIDE: The Guide is the main leader of the group. The Guide makes
sure that everyone in his/her group understands what to do. The Guide makes
sure that all group members share their thoughts and ideas. The Guide also
makes sure that the group finishes its task or activity.
PEACEMAKER: The Peacemaker makes sure that everyone’s thoughts,
feelings, and ideas are heard and understood. The Peacemaker makes sure that
peace is kept within the group and between groups and keeps everything
positive. The Peacemaker calls for “check-ins” (each person briefly states what
they are feeling and thinking at the moment without comment from anyone).
SCRIBE: The Scribe organizes and writes down the group’s ideas and
records plenary session proceedings for official records.
SPEAKER: The Speaker asks the group what they want to share. The
Speaker then share’s the group’s ideas with others outside the group. This role
is not needed in a Plenary Session when everyone is present.
SUPPLIER: The Supplier makes sure that group members have all the
materials they need. The Supplier asks for information for others in the group.
The Supplier also makes sure that all the materials are returned.
TIME KEEPER: The Time Keeper helps the group decide how much time
they should spend on each task and keeps track of the time and notifies the
group five minutes before the meeting is to end so the meeting can be
summarized and everyone knows what they are to do before the next meeting.
These Roles were assumed by different people at each plenary. This
process was so successful and the delegates in attendance were so committed to
the success of the First Young General Assembly Session, that the duties of the
Peacemaker were never once required.
Voting in the Young General Assembly is done in two ways.
(1) AN INFORMAL TEMPERATURE CHECK is taken to get an idea how the
group is feeling about an issue and thus to decide if to continue the
discussion or put the issue to a final formal vote. All participants signal
their feelings with a thumb.
A thumb pointed upwards means, “I agree fully.”
A thumb extended horizontally means, “I may not agree with it
wholeheartedly, but I can live with this decision.”
A thumb pointing downwards means, “I do not agree with this
decision.”
(2) A FORMAL VOTE BY AMBASSADORS ONLY in Plenary Sessions is done
by the raising of a hand to signify “Yes” or “No” when a vote is called for by
the Guide. The Ambassadors, people under 18 who can speak English selected
during the Preparatory Meetings, are given time to consult with the delegations
from their country before a formal vote is taken.
THE OPENING PLENARY
The Opening Plenary began with a song, Hear the Children, written
in 1996 by two 17 year old students from Taipei, Nancy Lee and Richard Chien.
Cathy Garcia, Plenary Session Guide, opened the First Assembly Session at
9:27AM on Monday, July 24, 2000.
The first item on the agenda was to discuss the Young General
Assembly Charter and vote it into force. The young people examined it in
national groups first and made suggestions that were discussed by everyone.
This was done in such detail that the whole day was spent in discussion.
Originally the afternoon was to be spent in Working Group Sessions, but the
delegates were very thorough in their review of the Charter.
At 5:57PM on Monday, July 24, 2000 the Young General Assembly
Charter was voted into force. The young delegates didn’t stop to think that
they had just made history. The fact that the Young General Assembly is the
first international organization designed, developed and established by charter
mainly by children (people under 18) over a period of ten years was not a
concern. All the teen-agers could think about was getting to dinner on time. By
an amazing coincidence in 1999, exactly a year before, Mayor Willie Brown had
officially proclaimed July 24, 2049 to be the 50th Anniversary of
the Young General Assembly in the City and County of San Francisco. This was
done directly across the street from the building where the United Nations
Charter was signed in 1945.
THE WORKING COMMITTEES
The young delegates had set up their Working Committees during the
Preparatory Meetings. They did this by getting into small groups and discussing
global issues for children. Each group made a list of 5 issues they thought
were really important and possible for young people to address through projects.
Everyone came together and all the issues were listed. The list was reviewed
and issues of like or similar characteristics were grouped together under one
topic. The Working Committees for the First Young General Assembly Session
were:
Child Abuse and
Exploitation
Crime, Violence
and Drugs
Education
Health and Social
Issues
Poverty
Each Working Committee had in depth discussions about the root
causes of problems under their area topic. Their project plans are meant to be
practical and able to be accomplished by young people. The summaries below do
not include the Action Steps to reach the goals specified because it would
lengthen this report too much.
SUMMARY OF THE WORKING COMMITTEE PROJECTS
CHILD ABUSE AND
EXPLOITATION (Members: Brosie Davidsen, Katie Davis, Patience Hlophe, David
Mendenhall, Nina Mirani, and Ashley Webb)
1. Action Area: Child
Labor
Need: Children
are driven into strenuous work at a young age for very low wages.
Goal: Establish
an educational program available for working children while receiving hourly
wages.
Rationale: With
the education that these children receive, they will be able to get a decent
job that will be able
to
support them and their family.
2. Action area: Child
Pornography
Need: Children’s
bodies are being exploited for the profit and pleasure of adults.
Goal: Create
and distribute postcards nationally informing about the ill effects of child
pornography on
children.
Rationale: Creating
public awareness will put pressure on government officials to ban child
pornography.
CRIME, VIOLENCE
AND DRUGS (Members: Alberta Daniels, Shani Hatch, Jeremy Ong, and Tim
Ovcharenko )
1. Action area; Reduce
Hate and Fear
Need: Hate
and fear lead to violence.
Goal: Create
a series of classes that will focus on causes, prevention and understanding to
replace fear and
hatred.
Rationale: Understanding
differences and learning communication skills and conflict resolution
techniques will
prevent
violence.
EDUCATION (Members: Karpagam Balakrishnan, Kyle Clifton, Julien
Lengson, Winile Maduna, Adam Malacko, Timea Medve, Edina Papp, Zsofia Rado,
Tyler Slater, Julie Titus, Stacey Younge, and Elizabeth Wong )
1. Action area: Improve Education Worldwide
Need: Government officials from around the
world, the United Nations and educators must become aware
of the pro’s and con’s of education
from a child’s point of view which is vital to building successful
solutions.
Goal: Compile essays from children around the
world about the pro’s and con’s of education in their
countries. The essays will be
organized into a book, published and sent to the United Nations and
government officials in every country.
Rationale: Through the book United Nations and
government officials will understand how children feel about
education and hopefully will use the
children’s ideas for educational improvement.
2. Action area: Build awareness about Educational Problems
and Solutions through the Internet
Need: Ideas about how to assess and improve
education to meet the needs of children everywhere need to
be generated.
Goal: Create a website for people to read
children’s essays about educational issues and to find tips about
how young people can improve
education themselves and improve their own study habits and
ability to learn.
Rationale: By having children informing each other
through essays and carrying on discussions through a chat
room, they will learn how to improve
their education starting by improving themselves.
3. Action area: Educate Children Below the Poverty Line
Need: Poverty
must be overcome and education is one of the best tools to use to do this.
Goal: Create teams of volunteers to teach in
poverty areas.
Rationale: When people are educated they can get
better paying jobs and spend handle their finances more
wisely.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL ISSUES (Members: Ly Nguyen, Yelena Ovcharenko,
Renee Plaza, Lindsey Michelsen, Julie Slater, Karla Jensen, and Kelli Malacko )
1. Action area: Reduce HIV/AIDS
Need: HIV/AIDS is killing more and more people
everyday and robbing humanity of possible future
leaders, scientists, artists, etc.
Goal: Educate youth and children about HIV/AIDS
and its consequences.
Rationale: If children and youth are educated about
the effects of HIV/AIDS and how to prevent it, then the
epidemic can be reduced and human
potential can better be developed.
2. Action area: Increase Self-Esteem in Young People
Need: Fear and anxiety, self doubts,
self-defeating behaviors and insecurity in family and peer
relationships are keeping young people
from becoming responsibly active people.
Goal: Get young people involved in service
projects.
Rationale: If young people see they can make a
difference by helping others they will begin to feel better about
themselves.
3. Action area: Peer Counseling Workshops
Need: Because of economic and social pressures
and stress, family environments are breaking down and
young people are making
self-destructive choices.
Goal: Have
young people design and present workshops/seminars that can be presented to
pre-teens and
teens
in school with the permission of school administrators.
Rationale Young
people feel more at ease with others their age, will open up and discuss their
problems and
be
able to create practical ways to get help and support to make choices that will
enhance their lives.
POVERTY ( Members: Zac Beus, Dane Davidsen, Mira Dvivedi, Maria
Guerrero, Larissa Kerr, Beth Nakano, Colin Sharp )
1. Action area: Alleviate Poverty
Need: Many children from poverty-stricken
families lack the motivation, education and family structure to
help them succeed in life.
Goal: Gather volunteers and train them in peer
counseling and tutoring and then arrange for young people
to have appointments with the trained
volunteers.
Rationale: When people are motivated and have some
education and skills, they can begin to break the poverty
cycle.
It is hoped that during the year, Member Organizations will send
their project plans about these issues to the Young General Assembly
Secretariat so they can be distributed worldwide.
THE YOUNG GENERAL
ASSEMBLY ONGOING COMMITTEES
The Young General Assembly Charter establishes the Secretariat and
three ongoing committees to handle the daily operations, make the
organizational decisions and set the policies needed between the Annual
Assembly Sessions.
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee will make decisions on planning and policy
and decisions needed for the organization to carry out its purposes when the
Assembly is not in Session. There are nine Executive Committee Members for
2000-2001: Karpagam Balakrishnan, Shani Hatch, Larissa Kerr, Timea Medve,
David Mendenhall, Beth Nakano, Edina Papp, Zsofia Rado and Julie Slater.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Finance Committee duties are to determine the necessary
financial arrangements and requirements, propose the annual Young General
Assembly organization budget, arrange for auditing and any necessary financial
consultation with experts, devise for future financial arrangements, and
provide an annual financial report due three months ahead of the annual
Assembly Session to be included in the Young General Assembly Annual Report and
to be presented to the annual Assembly Session. There are four Finance
Committee members for 2000-2001: Zach Beus, Janet Cerda, Dane Davidsen and
Yelena Ovcharenko.
THE SPECIAL ISSUE COMMITTEE
The Special Issue Committee duties are to: promote and publicize
Hear the Children Day activities worldwide, compile regional reports about Hear
the Children Day activities to be sent to the Secretariat by 31 December each
year, communicate frequently with Young General Assembly member organizations
and encourage them to establish links of partnership with national governmental
officials and report about such activities to the Secretariat three months
before the annual Young General Assembly Session to be included in the Young
General Assembly Annual Report, stay informed about the calendar of
governmental reports to be made to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in
Geneva, send notice to Young General Assembly member organizations as many
months as possible in advance of their government's reporting date in Geneva so
member organizations may compile a report from the children's viewpoint about
the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in their country, send
copies of these national reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child
and to the Young General Assembly Secretariat and remind the reporting
organizations to present report copies to their national government officials,
and alert appropriate officials and organizations about children in crisis. The
six members of the Special Issue Committee are Mohamadu Pateh Bah,
Bhekisizwe Dlamini, Cathy Garcia, Connor Low, Cody Malacko and K. C. O’Brien.
THE CLOSING PENARY
SESSION
The Closing Plenary took place at three different times: Friday
morning, Friday evening and Saturday evening. The agenda items that were tabled involved
long documents that needed more time than was available for careful reading.
Jace Stapley, an adult, had conferred with other adults about the
Charter in force. There were six points the adults felt should be changed.
There was a considerable amount time spent on refining and placing the
suggestions in the Charter and all six points were approved as Proposed
Amendments to be voted upon at a future meeting when 50% of the
Young General Assembly Member Organizations are present to vote the
amendments into force as required by Chapter 5, Article 11.2 in the Young
General Assembly Charter
A series of resolutions were
discussed and approved:
The
Young General Assembly hopes to find delegates to represent the organization in
New York between August 28-September 10, 2000 to attend the Summit of World
Spiritual and Religious Leaders, the Annual UN/DPI/NGO Conference, the
Interparliamentary Union Leaders meeting, the Global Peoples Assembly meetings,
the State of the World Forum and the United Nations Millennium Summit. (
Patience Hlophe, Young General Assembly Ambassador from Swaziland, and Juan
Carlos De La Rosa, Young General Assembly Delegate from Mexico, were selected
for this task.)
Bhekisizwe
Dlamini of Swaziland was delegated to represent and inform International Youth
Parliament 2000 about the Young General Assembly.
A
partnership between the Millennium Young People’s Congress and the Young
General Assembly was approved by resolution: “Because partnerships between
young people make more of an impact, the Young General Assembly resolves to
accept the responsibility to promote, implement and monitor the Millennium
Young People’s Congress Agenda as delegated to it by MYPC participants.
Furthermore, we encourage future cooperation between the two groups.” In
October 1999 Millennium Young People’s Congress participants overwhelmingly
agreed “to establish a partnership with the Young General Assembly. We delegate
the Young General Assembly to promote, implement and monitor the agenda created
by the Millennium Young People’s Congress.” The Agenda covered five major
issues: education, environment, human rights, peace, and health.” The Young
General Assembly Delegates agreed to do their best to uphold the partnership,
but expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the partnership because the
Millennium Young Peoples Congress had not upheld its part of the partnership to
send a representative to the First Young General Assembly Session.
A resolution to have the Young General Assembly do its best to
influence the United Nations Member States to propose and adopt the following
amendments to the Convention on the Rights of the Child was passed:
Article 55.1 The child has the right to be consulted, involved,
informed and to participate in all decisions that directly involve children and
affect their lives.
Article 55.2 The child has the right to prepare him/herself to
express her/his views when making these decisions.
Article 55.3 The child has a right to be aware of the consequences
resulting from the form of a given expression.
Article 56.1 The child has the right to be represented by
responsible and sympathetic individuals with regard to decision-making about
children’s issues with specific concern and consideration being given to the
indigenous child.
Article 57.1 The state parties shall ensure that during conflicts,
no child centers, orphanages or women’s rehabilitation centers shall be
attacked knowingly.
A
resolution to support “Manifesto 2000” was approved.
The
Working Committees’ Project Plans were discussed and approved.
The
Young General Assembly Statement to the United Nations Millennium Summit was
approved.
A resolution was proposed restricting the Member Organizations from
each country to the number three and only one of those organizations would be
in communication with the Young General Assembly Secretariat. This was
unanimously defeated because it did not fit in with the democratic spirit of
inclusiveness of the Young General Assembly.
The Closing Plenary Session of the First Young General Assembly was
adjourned by David Mendenhall, Plenary Guide, Saturday evening, July 29, 2000
at 8:20PM.
NOT EVERYTHING WAS WORK
The young delegates had opportunities to relax and enjoy each other
socially and develop close new friendships. A tour around the beautiful John T.
Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies was enjoyable and educated the young
people about the environment and sustainable living. Sunday morning there was a
lovely non-denominational Global Refection ceremony led by Jace Stapley. There
were games and sports during breaks and a lively pool party at the California
State Polytechnic University gym.
Arthur Jokela arranged for the delegates to have an afternoon tour
of Pomona College and then, through Richard Harris, President of the Pomona
Valley United Nations Association, and Sue Likens, Director, there was a lovely
reception at Pilgrim Place with more food than the teen-agers could consume.
The presentations of the young delegates were received with enthusiasm.
Through Betty Rippey the Press Conference was held in a cheerful,
peaceful setting at Puente Hills Mall. It was arranged by energetic Carolyn
Ramirez, Assistant Marketing Director for Krauz Company. Carolyn arranged to
have the music turned off in the entire mall and the children’s presentations
were heard by everybody in all the stores as well as the press.
The final day of celebration was spent at Santa Monica Pier. The
young people explored the shops, ate junk food, sat on the beach and talked and
deepened their new friendships.
In the evenings there were cultural sharings where the delegates
from each country gave informal presentation about their country of residence.
The young people gained a new view of their friends and learned about different
cultures through their poems from Hungary, peace songs from Sierra Leone,
traditional customs in Swaziland and even an indigenous dance from Canada.
These were times of laughter and wonder.
On the final morning there was a summary and “wrap up” discussion.
Everyone shared their feelings about the meeting. Without a doubt the young
people were excited about the fact that 55 people who did know each before
could become so close and work in such harmony and achieve so much. Behkisizwe
Dlamini from Swaziland summed it up very well:
“WE CAME TOGETHER AND
MADE A PAINTING.
WE WERE LIKE INDIVIDUAL COLORS
THAT WERE PUT
TOGETHER
TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL
PICTURE.”
APPENDIX
YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY STATEMENT
TO
THE UNITED NATIONS MILLENNIUM SUMMIT
“Among the partnerships we seek,
we turn especially to children themselves. We appeal to them to participate in
this effort.”
-World Summit for Children Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children: Clause 22
We as
children of the world, under the umbrella of the Young General Assembly, are
and will always be grateful for your invitation encouraging children to
participate and collaborate with the United Nations.
We have spent a decade building an international organization that
can effectively reply to your invitation. The Young General Assembly wishes to
further build upon this alliance and increase our participation in United
Nations activities. We are concerned that our partnership is dormant, despite
constant efforts from numerous youth organizations throughout the world. It is
time for issues concerning children to be given a higher priority from the
Member States in implementing the General Assembly resolutions. The Young
General Assembly is ready for a partnership with the United Nations and is
prepared to step into a prominent role to develop programs in response to
issues concerning the well-being of children.
As part of our partnership, the Young General Assembly has created
committees, which have designed projects addressing five paramount issues:
Poverty, Education, Crime and Violence, Abuse and Exploitation, Health and
Social Problems. These projects are being initiated to bring United Nations
goals alive in communities through the participation of children. Through these
projects children will become informed, engage other children and adults in
partnerships, and develop leadership skills through helping other children as
well as assisting their communities and national leaders. In other words, we
are creating responsible and dynamic global citizens who can support the United
Nations throughout the next millennium. Although this year we are focusing on
five basic issues, we hope to expand out programs to all areas relating to
child welfare. The Young General Assembly will continuously develop new
programs to advocate the rights and needs of children.
The Young General Assembly was created to give children a voice in
a world where they are often overlooked. We are looking to the United Nations
and its Member States to help children overcome this age barrier. A practical
partnership between international leaders and ourselves would clarify confusion
and frustration resulting from out limited contact and limited voice. We are
urging members of the United Nations to meet with and participate in out
committees. We also recognize the need for instruction on the protocol of the
United Nations. Finally we are asking for moral and financial support to
further implement our plans around the globe. We applaud the effective
partnership first proposed by 1985 Resolution GA/RES/40/14 and then by the
Braga Youth Action Plan that Member States include youth in their General
Assembly delegations. We would like to see this representation of youth,
including those 14 to 18, be a requirement. This direct participation would
give children an opportunity to affect international policy.
We as children are
optimistic with our continuous struggle, and we are convinced that with support
from the United Nations we will make an impact on the lives of children. The
Young General Assembly is an organization of youthful activity and restless
ambition. We are idealistic for the future. We are anxious to make a
difference. We are still learning and growing. We are children and we are ready
to aid the United Nations in its movement to establish love, unity and harmony