Participa en

PREMIO FAMILIARIZARTE, La familia es la solución.

Este premio tiene como objetivo encontrar las mejores propuestas, testimonios y expresiones artísticas que favorezcan la comunicación e integración, en el núcleo familiar y de éste dentro de la comunidad, a la vez que evidencien cómo y por qué, apostar por la familia, es la solución.
Accede aqui

MY ROAD TO RIO PHOTO CONTEST

WYA ROAD TO RIO + 20 DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE Y MEDIO AMBIENTE

¨Somos el reflejo de una cultura consumista¨

 Según el Centro de información de las Naciones Unidas,  ¨desarrollo sostenible puede  definirse como "un desarrollo que satisfaga las necesidades del presente sin poner en peligro la capacidad de las generaciones futuras para atender sus propias necesidades".

Si bien las necesidades de los individuos están cada vez más satisfechas en cuanto acceso  a  tecnología y demás aspectos, podemos afirmar que en cuanto a un real  ¨desarrollo sostenible¨,  el crecimiento ha sido más bien poco. En su mayoría, los países industrializados son grandes productores de bienes como elementos electrónicos, entre otros, que se han ido haciendo necesarios para la “realización” de cada persona, tal es el caso de celulares y computadores de última tecnología, lo cual es un aspecto muy positivo en la evolución de la sociedad en si misma. Sin embargo, el problema radica en que dicho desarrollo ha sido tan grande y se ha producido de una manera tan acelerada, que la industria se ha olvidado del factor más importante del desarrollo social,  como lo son las generaciones futuras y los recursos que debemos preservar para nuestros hijos y futuras generaciones.

La utilización de recursos naturales aunque ha sido controlada por diferentes entidades mundiales, no ha sido suficiente pues cada vez contamos con menos recursos naturales. Esta actitud de indiferencia de muchas personas frente a un eventual agotamiento ocurre porque nos encontramos en medio de una cultura  consumista, dónde solo nos importa el ¨yo¨,  producir, vender, renovar,  actualizar, comprar, en otras palabras, solo consumir y vivir así el día a día.  Esta actitud no es más que egoísmo, debemos tener presente  que como sociedad y como comunidad, hemos de vivir en solidaridad no solo con las personas que nos rodean en tiempo presente, sino en miras y consideración por  la sociedad futura.

 En un artículo publicado por las Naciones Unidas, se concluyó que ¨ las actividades humanas contribuyen a que los "gases de efecto invernadero" se acumulen en la atmósfera, lo cual provoca un aumento radial de la temperatura de la Tierra¨ (…) ¨Según el Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio climático, se predice que la temperatura del planeta habrá aumentado entre 1.4 y 5.8 grados centígrados en 2100. Este aumento previsto es más importante que cualquiera de los experimentados por el clima en los últimos 10 000 años y sus efectos para el medio ambiente mundial pueden ser muy significativos¨.

Así las cosas, tenemos que la sola creación de mecanismos y medidas para solucionar los problemas ambientales no son suficientes si no desarrollamos una conciencia ciudadana, pues incluso nuestras actividades diarias ocasionan calentamiento global.  Cada uno de nosotros debe hacerse un análisis como ciudadano y preguntarse ¿que estoy haciendo ¨yo¨ por el medio ambiente? y ¿que estoy haciendo ¨yo¨ en torno a un desarrollo sostenible? Debemos empezar desde  casa, con nuestra familia,  pues el medio ambiente es parte integrante del desarrollo económico y social de una comunidad. Debemos tener en cuenta que no habrá un real desarrollo sin  la preservación del medio ambiente, por lo tanto, desde ahorrar agua, hasta comprar carros con biocombustible son mejoras y actitudes que aunque de a  poco, ayudan a muestro medio ambiente y desarrollo sostenible.

Escrito por: Natalia Cabra Guzmán WYA Member

WYALA talks on POVERTY and INEQUITY at the OAS virtual community

¨In April 2012, the Heads of State and Government of the Hemisphere will meet in the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the region and propose concrete solutions to them¨. Therefore, this forum provides a valuable tool for citizens of the Americas to share ideas and help to enrich the debate that OAS leaders will discuss.

This post is an article wrote by Natalia Cabra, member of WYA originally from Colombia, who is working as an intern at World Youth Alliance Latin America in Mexico City.

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE REALLY POOR, OR POVERTY IS A MATTER OF ITS POPULATION ATTITUDE?

When discussing about poverty we must consider the reality and the actual situation of a “poor” country. There are many places in the world that do not have any goods to exploit, yet they are developed and considered as first-world countries. On the other hand, there are some who own valuable goods, but are still poor and underdeveloped, have high birthrates, and depend on first-world countries from an economic standpoint. For this particular forum, the questions that arise are: Are developing countries poor? Do they choose to be poor?  Why do these countries with a plethora of products to export and so much to exploit remain in poverty?

To answer these questions I am going to give an excellent example of a developing country such as Colombia, which is abounding in fauna and flora, has a very large variety of species, has a plentiful amount of minerals, emeralds, gold, and silver, and also produces and exports some of the best coffee in the world. In spite of all of these popular resources that Colombia possesses, it is still considered a poor “third-world country”.

The “winning attitude” or culture of achievement is the intangible that well-developed countries maintain. A successful winning attitude or culture of achievement is represented by education, discipline, and commitment. So in this sense, poverty – among other causes - is a matter of the mind-set of the people. The level of education in Colombia is very low; therefore this condition engenders some population dissonance. Thus, generation after generation do not have the motor or ambition to hold superior knowledge that other countries strive for. Poverty will be always present if the people who inhabit a country are not educated in the pursuit of a better tomorrow through hard work, discipline and commitment. In order to achieve this long term solution, the government must support this optimal preparation and promote nationwide solidarity.

In Colombia, as a ¨Social State of Law¨, the government has the obligation to adopt and apply policies aimed to improve social issues. It is the government’s duty to support its citizens through campaigns and through active education in order to reduce poverty and inequity, and to protect dignity and inherent human rights among population

 I personally believe that Colombians are improving their quality of life and overall standard of living.  However, the issuing of certain standards and policies have not met the progress we need as a country. The monitoring of social trends is poor, seemingly effortless, and incomplete. Consequently, there is still poor efficiency of justice; therefore, the dignity of persons is not being fully respected. There is still much to do towards the protection of human rights and we must begin widespread education in order to do so. We must remember at all times that the pillars of sustainable developments- as is stated by WYA-  the protection of human dignity, the protection of the family and the integral development of people; we as whole are responsible for  the¨ pursuit of a sustainable world and the foundation of human rights¨.

Escrito por:

 Natalia Cabra Guzmán WYA Member

"La familia: Escuela de la dignidad y el entendimiento mutuo" - World Youth Alliance hace un llamamiento a la Reunión de Alto Nivel sobre Juventud para centrarse en las necesidades básicas de los jóvenes mediante el fortalecimiento y apoyo a la familia.

Nueva York: 22 de junio 2011Cientos de jóvenes de varios países han participado en Nueva York durante el lunes, 25 de julio al asistir a las Naciones Unidas para la Reunión de Alto Nivel sobre Juventud. La delegación de WYA a la reunión, contiene miembros de 19 países, que participaron en tres días completos de entrenamiento del 24 al 26 de julio en la sede de WYA.WYA activamente ha presentado sugerencias y enmiendas para la Declaración Política, que será el documento-resultado de la conferencia. Las propuestas de WYA se han centrado en la importancia de las familias de los jóvenes para garantizar el acceso a la nutrición, educación, salud, servicios sociales, empleo y actividades culturales. La familia es también el lugar donde tiene lugar y se respeta por primera vez el diálogo y el entendimiento mutuo; éste el tema de la conferencia.WYA apoya la inclusión de la "familia" en el documento final como una de las instituciones importantes que ayuda a garantizar los derechos de los jóvenes en la sociedad y que fomenta la integración social, la solidaridad inter-generacional, la educación no formal y el crecimiento económico. "La familia es el primer lugar que los jóvenes no sólo aprenden acerca de su dignidad como seres humanos sino también de la comprensión mutua en un contexto donde no todos están de acuerdo", señala Rebecca Marchinda, Directora de Incidencia de WYA. "Para una persona joven, la familia es la clave para satisfacer las necesidades básicas como la educación y la nutrición. Por lo tanto, no puede ser ignorada en el documento final de esta reunión de alto nivel. "Para más información sobre la World Youth Alliance y nuestra labor de incidencia, incluyendo las actualizaciones en la participación WYA en la ONU reunión de alto nivel sobre la juventud, por favor visite nuestra página web o comunicarse con la Directora de Incidencia de WYA, Rebecca Marchinda (becky@wya.net).En este Blog, Ud. podrá leer la "Esperanza!" publicada por WYA durante la Reunión de Alto Nivel sobre Juventud.World Youth Alliance es una coalición mundial de jóvenes dedicados a la promoción de la dignidad de la persona humana en la política y la cultura y a la construcción de la solidaridad entre los jóvenes de naciones en desarrollo y jóvenes de naciones en vías de desarrollo. Con aproximadamente un millón de miembros en más de 160 países, World Youth Alliance es una de las mayores coaliciones de jóvenes en el mundo. www.wya.net

Family: School of Dignity!

For Immediate Release “The family: school of dignity and mutual understanding”- World Youth Alliance calls upon the UN High Level Meeting on Youth to focus on the basic needs of young people by strengthening and supporting the family New York City: June 22, 2011 Hundreds of young people from various countries will descend upon New York City on Monday, July 25th to attend the United Nations High-level Meeting on Youth. World Youth Alliance’s delegation to the meeting, which contains members from 19 different countries, is invited to three full days of training from July 24 – 26 at World Youth Alliance (“WYA”) headquarters. WYA has actively submitted suggestions and amendments for the Political Declaration, the outcome of the conference. WYA’s proposals have focused on the importance of the families of young people in guaranteeing access to nutrition, education, healthcare, social services, employment and cultural activities. The family is also the place where dialogue and mutual understanding, the theme of the conference, is first carried out and respected. WYA supports the inclusion of “family” in the outcome document as one of the important institutions that helps to guarantee the rights of young people in society and that fosters social integration, intergenerational solidarity, informal education and economic growth. “The family is the first place that young people learn not only about their dignity as human beings but also about mutual understanding in a context where not everyone agrees,” notes Rebecca Marchinda, WYA’s Director of Advocacy. “For a young person, family is the key to fulfilling basic needs like education and nutrition. Therefore it cannot be ignored in the outcome document of this high-level meeting.” For more information on the World Youth Alliance and our advocacy work, including updates on WYA’s participation at the UN High-level Meeting on Youth, please visit our webpage or contact WYA Director of Advocacy, Rebecca Marchinda (becky@wya.net). Click here to view WYA's Esperanza for the High Level Meeting on Youth. The World Youth Alliance is a global coalition of young people dedicated to promoting the dignity of the human person in policy and culture and to building solidarity between young people of developing and developed nations. With approximately one million members from more than 160 countries, the World Youth Alliance is one of the biggest coalitions of young people worldwide. www.wya.net To view a PDF version of this press release, click here. Click here to view the WYA at the UN HLMY Press Packet

Working Towards Dialogue and Mutual Understanding Among Youth as Agents of Development, Social Inclusion, Tolerance and Peace

This year’s High Level Meeting on Youth, concluding the UN International Year of Youth, will be dedicated to Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. The United Nations has invited a limited number of youth delegates to dialogue on issues they are facing today, so as to foster “mutual understanding,” among youth but also between authorities and youth. The World Youth Alliance and its members also prepared for the meeting and ensured that the voice of the world’s young people would be heard by representatives of Member States and the Secretariat of the U.N. In order to accomplish this, we proposed a series of amendments to the outcome document, and I was in charge of doing the initial analysis and creating an outline of our proposals.

In preparation for this meeting, the UN Secretariat issued a draft outcome document that Member States were invited to amend and develop. This document heavily drew upon the World Programme of Action on Youth (WPAY), drafted and signed by the General Assembly in 1995. But it also refers to other international texts–including the Millennium Development Goals. Draft amendments were proposed, accepted, altered or refused; paragraphs were deleted and moved; new issues were added. All in all, keeping a clear head while following this process and drafting our own amendments and proposals has been challenging.

There are ten priority areas addressed by the international community in the WPAY. These are all reflected in the final outcome document of this week’s High Level Meeting. The title of the document implies that the HLMY is about dialogue and mutual understanding. However, besides a few introductory paragraphs, only Paragraphs 18 and 26 specifically mention the official theme of the conference. The following title would have better mirrored the substance of the draft: “Involving youth with a view to more effective and better focused development.” The current draft combines the MDGs with the WPAY and focuses mostly on development issues: fostering “development,” enabling “youth development” and implementing the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, the World Youth Alliance has strong hopes that young people from developing countries will be well-represented.

The World Alliance proposed three amendments to the draft outcome. The first emphasized respect for the dignity of the human person as the foundational principle underlying human rights. The second stressed the special vulnerability of young people to the multiple challenges that the world at large faces. The third added a dimension that is too often forgotten: the family plays a very important role of the life of all young people, since it is the first setting in which a youth learns how to dialogue, understand and compromise with the persons closest to him.

Personally, I would have added much more: An emphasis on the best interests of youth, a more pronounced acknowledgment of the role men and boys play in respecting women and fostering gender equality, an encouragement to strengthen policies supporting family unity as a measure to prevent crime, a stated need for policies supporting the integral development of each person in order to bring about “youth development.” I trust, however, that despite the absence of these issues in the final document, representatives of States will keep them in mind by implementing the outcome according to the principle of subsidiarity. In the end, the main challenge of my work on amendments was the likelihood that with so many proposals, none of them would make their way into the next draft. I just had to restrain myself and keep to the most essential ones. I didn’t realize how much reading would have to be done just to analyze a UN outcome document, but I enjoyed every minute and gladly accepted the challenge.

Bernadette

WYA Member, France

Age 29