The Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) Youth Forum 2024 will be organised ahead of APFSD 2024 by co-conveners, Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Youth LEAD, and Y-PEER Asia Pacific Centre in partnership with the Right Here Right Now Global Partnership, Asia Pacific Regional CSOs Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), and in co-collaboration with the Major Group for Children and Youth, and the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP.
This year, the Youth Forum will be held in a hybrid modality from February 15–17, 2024, with the theme, “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: The effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions with young people at the forefront.” The forum will bring together youth-led and youth-serving organisations representing adolescents and youth in all their diversities under the age of 30 to discuss and deliberate on the theme of the 11th APFSD.
The forum aims to:
- Ensure young people’s voices and their realities are included in setting the regional agenda on sustainable development through the development of the Regional Youth Call to Action;
- Empower young people through meaningful interactions and conversations between various stakeholders, including UN agencies, Member States, and youth-led and youth-serving organisations, to realise the commitments around the SDGs;
- Approach the sustainable development agenda with an intersectional, youth, human rights, and justice lens to address systemic and structural issues affecting the realisation of the SDGs in the region;
- Create a platform for young people for learning, sharing, capacity strengthening, and meaningful engagement;
- Review the previous AFPSD Regional Youth Declaration and push forward advocacy at the national level.
Key cluster goals under discussion include SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 2 (Zero hunger), SDG 13 (Climate action), SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
APPLICATION IS OPEN TO THOSE WHO ARE:
- Between 13 and 30 years of age.
- Is progressive and believes in human rights-based approaches.
- Demonstrates unique strengths in the application that are relevant to the SDGs under review as part of the 11th APFSD.
- Shows understanding of SDGs at the country or regional level.
- Individuals from marginalised or socially excluded groups, communities, and applications from far-to-reach places will be prioritised to ensure diversity and inclusion in participation at the APFSD Youth Forum.
- Considerations will also be given to the individuals who have been part of previous APFSD Youth Forums, contributed to previous APFSD Call to Action, or have attended the intergovernmental APFSD in the past.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Application deadline: 31 December 2022 (12 Midnight, Thailand time)
- Please mention if you require interpretation services or have accessibility needs in the application form. Conveners of the Youth Forum will try and accommodate your request to the best of our ability.
- If you are below 18 and you are selected to participate in the Youth Forum, you will be requested to provide consent from your parent/guardian in the later processes.
- If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].
