The Global Youth Forum (GYF), involving nearly 700 young people, NGO representatives, academics, government officials, and other stakeholders and some 2,000 virtual delegates on line, has taken place in Bali, Indonesia, sponsored by UNFPA and governments with the most progressive language ever being negotiated by the youth leadership. Specific and forward-looking consensus recommendations have been agreed on Staying Healthy, Comprehensive Education and Transitions to Decent Work.
Speaking in the opening session, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin said that he wanted to provoke young people to believe in themselves and that the world today offered more opportunities than they could ever imagine. He said that they were gathered in Bali to create a safe space for young people unfettered by discrimination, in which young people could determin their own lives. Of the 7 billion people in the world, 1.8 billion are young people who are sometimes confused, sometimes misdirected and sometimes refused the opportunity to move forward. Dr Osotimehin said that the world should not belong to them tomorrow but should belong to them today.
To view videos on the GYF go to the ICPD Beyond 2014 website (http://icpdyouth.org/delegate/watch). Reports on the meeting are included on the Akimbo Blog on the International Women’s Health Coalition website.