This workshop included about 40 members of the World Youth Movement for Democracy (Youth Movement) representing all areas of the world. Tapera Kapuya, a member of the Youth Movement Advisory Council, reviewed the history of the network, how it was founded, the values that it represents, and its core objectives, which include building the capacity of youth in developing democracy, advocacy, developing grassroots initiatives, and networking youth for the exchange of information.

 

Sergio Balladares and Mohammed Al-Maskati spoke about two main activities of the Youth Movement, which are the annual Youth Essay Contest and the International Youth Day for Democracy on 18 October. Mr. Al-Maskati spoke about his experience as a regional Essay Contest judge for the 2010 competition. With more than 500 essays to review, he explained the process and criteria of evaluation, as well as the announcement of winners on International Youth Day for Democracy and the prizes awarded. Mr. Balladares pointed out that 18 October has been celebrated for several years as a day to recognize the efforts of youth in democracy building and is unofficially celebrated as the International Youth Day for Democracy. Each year, the Youth Movement encourages its members to carry out activities locally, and the secretariat of the Youth Movement collects information on the events to support the effort to have the day officially recognized by the UN. Last year, events focused on cross-border activities, such as Egyptian youth showing a film on the Balkan wars and young Cuban activists wearing green in solidarity with Iranian activists, among others.

 

Following the presentations, participants divided into five groups to discuss thematic issues.

 

One group focused on Youth Movement expectations and suggested that in addition to its two core activities, the network should activate a solidarity component. This would bring greater life to the activities. The group also raised the possibility of making the Youth Movement an entity with sub-regional groups.

 

A second group focused on the annual Essay Contest and presented several challenges to improving the competition, including the translation issue, which made the past contest inconvenient for some contestants. There were also suggestions regarding the selection of judges, including the possibility that previous winners be asked to serve as some of the judges, and thus give back to the activity. Several winners of the last contest suggested that the prize for the contest be changed to something other than attending a World Movement assembly, as was the case for 2010, since some viewed this simply as a free trip rather than as a networking opportunity. The group also suggested that all the submitted essays, not just the regional winning ones, should be publicized and translated, or at least summarized into a report to focus on youth problems by region and on general themes that are repeated in the essays.

 

The group focusing on the Youth Movement secretariat proposed a new structure to make the network more globally focused and to keep members active. The group recommended a network structure of five regional blocs, while keeping the secretariat in Washington, DC. The regional blocs would develop strong local membership and activities, while the secretariat would coordinate the blocs to keep the network operating globally.

 

The group focused on International Youth Day for Democracy recommended an advocacy effort aimed at official UN recognition by using the upcoming UN Year of Youth.  It was suggested that making youth engagement in democracy each year last for more than one day, possibly even a week, or even from 12 August (International Youth Day) to 18 October (International Youth Day for Democracy). The Youth Movement should also brand this day with a theme and activity that can be easily replicated globally by network members.

 

The workshop concluded with a determination that the Youth Movement should be region- and gender-balanced in its membership and leadership bodies, and that two thematic issues should be the focus of its efforts over the next two years: protection of young activists and increasing knowledge of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) among youth.