 Over 2,000 young people from 120 countries at the weekend joined hands for a big Youth Blast, to ensure the voices of young people and their concerns are brought as high as possible onto the agenda of Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
“The goal of Rio +20 is to listen, hear and recognize the successes of youth,” Mr. Gilberto de Carvalho, Minister of the General Secretary of the Presidency of Brazil, told the conference organized by the Major Group of Children and Youth with the support of the Brazilian Government and UN-Habitat. “Youth are not only the future but they are the present. They are the biggest victim of social exclusion in Brazil today and the world, and suffer the most from unemployment and poor education.”
Ambassador Sha Zu Kang, Secretary General of the Rio+20 Conference, told the youth delegates: “The Future We Want is the name of the final outcome document. This document is for you, and your children,” he said. “This is one of the most important conference in history. According to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon this is a once in a generation opportunity. Traditionally, young people have had a faint voice in determining their future. Events such as the Youth Blast can change that.”
UN-Habitat has worked closely with Major Group on Children and Youth to assure the success of the RioYouth Blast . On Monday, UN-Habitat was scheduled to co-host the Youth 21 High Level Panel on Youth: Towards Establishing a Permanent Forum on Youth Issues. Click here for further information. |
