Ten days after the United Nation declared International Youth Day under the theme “ Dialogue through Mutual Understanding” which initiated the year- long celebration and development of youth worldwide in the city of Leon Guanajuato, Mexico and kicked-off this year’s World Youth Conference under the theme “say it out loud.”

The conference which is a week- long process of interaction, intense meetings and discussions, and networking, seeks to address the efforts and process towards the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDG´s) by not only the United Nations but also numerous governments. Under the theme “say it out loud,” the conference is currently hosting over 163 countries with over 2,000 participants from various Non- Governmental Organizations as well as Government Officials. The week- long event will focus on twelve thematic areas which are:; education, culture, health, poverty and hunger, gender equalities, technology and innovation, employment, international migration, access to justice and security, participation and sustainable development. From these areas, the youth delegation will restructure a draft that will be presented at the next United Nations General Meeting in DECEMBER 2010.

From the point of view of a participant/ delegate, it is obviously clear that there needs to be more coordination of the event and its activities and, better communication between participants and organizers. Such statements were echoed all throughout the entire day by not only me but by most of the delegates present. First, we received our flight arrangements only two days before the date of departure, we then had to take a five- hour bus ride from Mexico City to in Leon which I must say was painful form my rear. , Then when we arrived, it was a room full of Spanish speakers who spoke little or no English. But hey it did not stop there: the next morning at least half of the youth delegation was not on the system so they had to re-register… yeah I was one of them.

After an hour, I was able to finally proceed to where the opening ceremony was held which I must say gave me a different perspective of the conference. Despite the lack in organization, the aims and goals of the conference really seemed liked they were workable and that this is not another talk shop where we gather meet, exchange business cards, add people on facebook and that’s it.

Following the opening ceremony was the official opening for the NGO forum which I still trying to reach a conclusion on whether I liked it or not. Again, organization seemed to be the major problema; however, it had very memorable speakers-- two such were deputy director of UNFPA Ms. Nina Beliaeva and also the director of Mr. Werner Haug. Both speakers spoke of the importance of youth not only benefiting from the various programmes the United Nations and local Governments have to offer but also being active partners in decision making. Mrs. Beliaeva stressed the participation of youth ins decision- making and commended the 10th International Aids Conference in Austria as well as the 2nd Women Deliver conference in Washington D.C commenting that there needs to be efforts placed on sexual reproductive health and rights. She stated that “a strong society includes one that includes youth in all areas of decision- making” and that it’s full- time we the occupants of this world puts theory into practice.

Mr. Haug gave a well- detailed presentation on the issues the United Nations face as well as the global population touching one each and every one of the MDG´s. He stated that one in every four people living with HIV/AIDS is a young persons and that youth account for half of the HIV/AIDS population. He highlighted the progress we have made stating that

there has been a 20% decrease in cases between the years 1990 to 2005. He went one to state that 81 million youth worldwide are unemployed and that of those employed 152 still live in poverty. He urged us to promote youth participation in national decision- making and providing training sessions for our youth in various areas.

For MDG 2, he stated that we need to provide quality basic education to all and remove factors such as cost barriers that hinder universal access to education. Interest facts presented by Mr. Haug and recommendation or planned actions by the UN are:; 2007- only 53 of the 171 countries had met the MDG 4 and that UN will be working with males to stop gender inequality and child marriages. 8.8 million children under the age of five die every year however there has been a 28% drop between the years 1990 to 2000. The UN is committed to increase funding for immunization (an excellent move I believe.) and provide nutritional programmes for mothers and children. One of my favorite recommendations was to MDG 5 which showed that over 35,000 women die in childbirth globally and that the UN will pursue access to comprehensive sexual reproductive health and rights on a global level. In addition, he also stated that the UN will provide comprehensive sex education to youth in- and out- of- school. This was a wise move and loving the feel of a comprehensive approach both in how u addresses the issue and your target audience.

Now we all now by know that Advocates for Youth is trying working to highlight the relationship with climate change and SRHR. Interestingly without even knowing that he did it Mr. Haug opened my eyes to relationship of both issues….. Hmm I wonder if he realized what he just did… anyway he stated that girls are more affected by climate change than boys that many people especially females migrate from deep rural areas to urban slums searching for a better a life. Now if Mr. Haug was paying attention to his presentation he would see that many misinformed and uninformed youth leave a bad situation within the rural setting where there are little or no resources as it relates to SRHR into slums that also do not provide them with the necessary information to protect themselves.

Mr. Haug ended his presentation with the statement.. "MDG …. YOUR RIGHTS” a powerful statement which in my view we should all sit back for awhile and `ponder on. Following that session was three more personal private session which I will discuss in my next post.

In retrospect the first day was not, despite the few glitches which I hope won’t occur tomorrow the day was eventful. We all had something to say and we all said it out loud.