World Youth Alliance Latin America

2011-07-26T16:30:00.002-06:00

"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!

2011-07-26T16:29:00.000-06:00

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

2011-07-25T13:49:00.002-06:00

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

Esperanza!

2011-07-22T16:40:00.004-06:00

The Value of Family Promotion in Protecting the Intrinsic Dignity of the Human Person

The World Youth Alliance welcomes the General Assembly’s proclamation of the International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. Youth represent a significant proportion of the world and are therefore not only the future, but also the present. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that educating and empowering youth is integral to the improvement of social and economic conditions and the well-being and livelihood of future generations. The World Youth Alliance also recognizes that all persons have intrinsic dignity; it is only through respecting this dignity that the ideals of peace, freedom, justice, tolerance, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, solidarity and development can be effectively achieved.

With this as our foundation, it is clear that authentic human development begins with investment in the human person. This needs to ensure that the person is placed in the right conditions and environment to foster his well-being, fulfillment and productivity. Such investment must begin with the family, which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares is the “fundamental unit of society.”

The family promotes a stable environment that is necessary for the person to flourish. Children with supportive parents are more likely to be engaged with their school education at home and receive help from their parents if faced with difficulties. Also, with the support of the family, children are encouraged to strongly value their education and are often guided to pursue post-secondary education. With a supportive family, an attitude of positive optimism and future ambition is cultivated. Indeed, the family encourages development of skills and concepts necessary for social change. For instance, the family plays an invaluable role in the child’s development of language and speech and the nurturing of cognitive abilities. This is consistent with the established relationship between language and power and the fact that language is fundamental to human agency and social transformation.

Discrimination, isolation and poverty are integrally linked. When the person is isolated from her family she is more susceptible to discrimination due to the associated vulnerability that comes with the absence of support and solidarity. The UN Committee on Educational, Social and Cultural Rights has correctly recognized that poverty is often caused by people having no access to existing resources because of who they are, what they believe or where they live. Especially in developing countries, belonging to a family provides more locus standi, and allows for easier integration into the wider community.

Statistics have shown a clear and consistent relationship between the ideal of united families and economic buoyancy. For instance, when compared to single adults, married adults have a significantly higher average household income. Likewise children of married parents in comparison to those of unmarried parents have been found to do better economically. The breakdown of the family unit goes against the world’s aspirations for forward strides to be made in social and economic matters. Research has shown that divorced adults, especially women, experience greater economic hardship.

Promoting the family is essential to providing the right conditions for the human person to develop and flourish. The simple and yet integral value of family promotion is often overlooked in international documents. Promoting the family would have far-reaching positive effects on education and empowerment of the human person. It will also work to negate the possibilities of discrimination and thus enhance dialogue and mutual understanding as well as increase the integration of youth within society at large. Strong family units lead to the development of strong young men and women, empowered and equipped to positively contribute to our world, and to ensure the dignity of every person is recognized. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that dignity is something shared by all human persons and therefore there must be solidarity in recognizing this immutable fact. The essence of family promotion is to promote solidarity in its most fundamental form.

A Call to Action!

Letters from World Youth Alliance members in Saint Lucia

Dear delegate,

I am an eighteen year old, and I have written this letter in hopes that some of the issues facing Saint Lucian youth may be alleviated. I believe that my homeland is blessed with many beautiful young persons, some of whom are not granted the necessary opportunities to nurture their God-given talents. I say this because most of the crimes committed in my country are committed by young persons between the ages of fifteen to thirty. Most of these individuals lack opportunities–either for education or opportunities which stimulate good impulses for instance, the importance of being a good citizen. I believe there should also be forums and development programmes on parenting as some youth may be poverty stricken and parenting as some youth may be poverty stricken and parenting as some youth may be poverty stricken and suffering from neglect from parents and the home, indeed is where it all starts.

I believe that young persons with so much energy to spend need to be channeled in the right direction. We need development programmes, more education opportunities, mentors, counselors. Young persons need help and guidance. We need to know that there is still hope despite any predicament, be it poverty, teenage pregnancy or parental neglect.

People in St Lucia are very critical of St Lucian youth because of all the crimes. We are considered to be lazy and fail in comparison to the generations that have gone before us, or so the adults say. Regardless, I do admit that it would be an amazing feeling to have a sense of security restored when walking the streets.

Sincerely,

Latonia

Age 18

Saint Lucia

Sir Arthur Lew Community College

Dear delegate,

Quality education is the gateway to the development of our world in order to impact our community; we must learn to harvest the infinite reserves of the human mind. Yet, millions of youth from around the work are constantly denied opportunities of self-awareness and realization. Human dignity is denied when education is withheld. In countless instances where education is provided it serves not necessarily to encourage brilliance and ingenuity of thoughts, but rather to dampen creativity and force conformity. Education must inspire us to grow and change to have the audacity to create.

To solve this issue the developing world must adapt comprehensive policies which recognize both the human and strategic importance of education. True education should be filled with both compassion and information. Teachers should receive adequate training so as to inspire their students. Students must be supplied with relevant and advanced materials which encourage them not only to accept conventional teaching, but also to discover the world around them. Measures should be implemented to build student confidence in order to produce emotionally intelligent and balanced world citizens. Inadequacies in teaching compromise both student self-esteem and ability to learn. We in the developing world grow weary of waiting. It is the hour for change.

Sincerely,

Jarnickae

Age 16

Saint Lucia

St Mary’s College

You’re invited to join us at…

Our Voices, Our Aspirations: A Youth Dialogue on Sustainable Development

A High Level Meeting on Youth side event sponsored by the Bahá’í International Community United Nations Office, Alas de Rio, and the World Youth Alliance.

Tuesday, July 26^th from 1:15-2:45pm ~ 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120 ~ RSVP: bic-nyc@bic.org

ART SPEAKS

Art Speaks will celebrate the conclusion of the High Level Meeting on Youth with an evening of performances by professional actors and musicians, a photography and sculpture exhibit, short film screenings, and testimonials by young delegates and participants from the High Level Meeting on Youth.

Tuesday, July 26^th from 7-9pm ~ World Youth Alliance Headquarters ~ FREE ADMISSION

228 East 71st Street, New York, NY / www.wya.net

WYALA Present at the OAS

2011-06-10T18:41:00.006-06:00

WYALA Staff, Milagros Antonietti and Christel Sonnekalb participated at the 41st General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), which took place June 5th - 7th in the Central American city of San Salvador, El Salvador. The theme selected for this year’s Assembly was “Citizen Security in the Americas”

The theme was chosen after a study from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights done on 2009. This study declares that America is the most violent continent of the world, having one homicide every four minutes. Across the region during 2009, 133,837 homicides were recorded, which means 366 every day, 15 every hour and one every 4 minutes.

On Saturday, June 4th, previous to the inauguration, the Secretary General, Mr. José Miguel Insulza, met with representatives of the Civil Society. On the same day, the Civil Society discussed and selected nine subjects to be presented before a group of Heads of Delegations of all OAS Members-States. Some of them were Citizen Security, Childhood and Youth, Minority Rights, Judicial Independence, and Right of Persons with Disabilities. These proposals were presented on a meeting on Sunday 5th previous to the Inauguration Ceremony. Mauricio Funes, President of El Salvador, held the inauguration speech and declared the beginning of the OAS GA.

The Declaration of San Salvador, which is written in five pages, underlines the need to continue strengthening bilateral, sub-regional, regional and international cooperation, according to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the OAS, in order to "face, prevent, and combat comprehensively and effectively transnational organized crime." With the intention to "continue its efforts to strengthen public security" on the continent, Delegates assumed the compromise to develop a Hemispheric Plan of Action to be submitted in Bolivia 2012 during the next General Assembly.

World Youth Alliance was the only youth organization present among the Civil Society representatives and it achieved the inclusion of the importance of the family and the respect for human dignity in order to prevent crime in the proposals of the Civil Society to the Head of Delegations.

WYALA observed with concern proposals of groups which did not address

the problematic at hand, while other relevant matters, such as the relation between youth and crime, was rather overlooked. Youth in the Americas are often victims, but also due to the lack of opportunities and other issues, get involve with organized crime as drug dealers, gangsters, hitmans, and often do not offer a solution, but are part of the problem.

We call upon the OAS Member-States to defend the dignity of each and every one of its citizens, in particular of those most vulnerable to crime and seek real solutions to this problem that affects millions of people in our continent.

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Photos

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150196160778155.305866.82901308154&l=ba0f0e9563

Esperanzas

http://wyalatinamerica.blogspot.com/2011/06/seguridad-ciudadana-para-los-jovenes-la.html

2011-06-06T09:52:00.002-06:00

¡Seguridad Ciudadana para los Jóvenes!

La oficina regional de WYA Latin America se encuentra participando de la 41° Asamblea General de la OEA, que está teniendo lugar hasta el 7 de Junio en El Salvador. El tema elegido para este año es "Seguiridad Ciudadana en las Amercias" Esta es la propuesta que desde la juventud tenemos para los representantes de los gobiernos de los paisess miembros de la OEA.

Este año celebramos el Año Mundial de la Juventud. ¿Sabía Ud. que la mayor riqueza del continente americano son sus jóvenes? América es la región con el mayor número de personas menores a 30 años.

Observamos con preocupación cómo se debaten ideas y posiciones que no brindan soluciones a la problemática real que enfrentamos los jóvenes americanos. Es por ello que World Youth Alliance hace las siguientes propuestas:

1. Facilitar el Acceso a Necesidades Básicas

La mayoría de los jóvenes del mundo viven sin satisfacer necesidades básicas: Nutrición adecuada, agua potable, vivienda, higiene, educación, formación profesional y atención básica de salud. Las razones para esto son principalmente la corrupción, la falta de voluntad política, y la falta de inversión en la persona, como centro de las políticas públicas. Hacemos un llamado a la comunidad internacional para que las necesidades básicas de los jóvenes sean una prioridad mediante el establecimiento de sistemas de lucha contra la corrupción y en pro de la inversión en la educación y la salud de los jóvenes.

Programa de Acción Mundial para los Jóvenes (PAMJ), 8.a Preámbulo, Los párrafos 21-25, 40-47, 59 - 61, 63

2. Apoyar a la Familia

Apoyar a la familia empodera y potencia a los jóvenes. La familia ayuda a los jóvenes a convertirse en ciudadanos activos y fomenta la solidaridad entre las generaciones, favoreciendo su educación y preparación para el ingreso a la fuerza laboral. Las familias contribuyen a reducir el riesgo de que los jóvenes sean víctimas de la trata, de la explotación sexual, del contagio del VIH / SIDA y otras ETS; así como del abuso físico y/o mental. Es en la familia donde generalmente tenemos la primera experiencia de nuestra dignidad y la dignidad de los demás. Las políticas que sustentan la familia apoyan el trabajo, fomentan la unidad familiar y colocan a la familia en el centro de las estrategias para la erradicación de la pobreza. Hacemos un llamado a la comunidad internacional no sólo a apoyar a las familias donde los jóvenes crecieron, sino también a aquellas que los jóvenes formarán.

PAMJ, preámbulo 5(l), párrafo 34

3. Asignar Fondos para Jóvenes Líderes de Países en Vías Desarrollo

WYA es una coalición mundial de jóvenes que promueve la solidaridad entre jóvenes de países desarrollados y países en vías de desarrollo. Estamos preocupados por la falta de representación de los "Delegados de Juventud" de países en vías de desarrollo y entendemos que no es falta de voluntad política, sino financiación que impide a los países en vías de desarrollo tener delegados de juventud. Hacemos un llamado a la comunidad de la OEA, para que en solidaridad, promueva la asignación de fondos específicamente para la financiación de delegados de juventud a los países en desarrollo.

PMAJ, párrafo 31-3

4. Facilitar el empleo de los jóvenes

Según cifras de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), el desempleo, la informalidad y la inactividad acechan el futuro laboral de unos 106 millones de jóvenes latinoamericanos y caribeños y limitan el potencial de la región para impulsar el crecimiento económico y luchar contra la pobreza. Aproximadamente 25% de los jóvenes de la región están desempleados y no asisten a la escuela. Además 30 millones de jóvenes trabajan de manera informal y en condiciones difíciles.

Los jóvenes necesitan tener confianza en las posibilidades de desarrollar su potencial emprendedor y laboral. Es por ello que pedimos a la comunidad internacional fomentar la educación y capacitación laboral, así como facilitar la transición entre la vida académica a la vida laboral.

PMAJ, párrafo 33-3, UNICEF “Hechos sobre Adolescencia y Jóvenes en América Latina y el Caribe” y “Juventud y Trabajo Decente” OIT, Lima, 2007

WYA @ WYD 2011!

2011-05-20T18:04:00.005-06:00

World Youth Alliance estará atendiendo a la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud

2011 en Madrid

del 16 al 21 de agosto. ¡Únete a nosotros! En este link

podrás

encontrar más información:

http://wya.net/ourwork/WYAatWYD2011.html?catid=242

Investing in the Human Person

2011-04-15T01:00:00.002-06:00

The World Youth Alliance supports the work of the Commission on Population and Development in their efforts to promote the human person as the central subject of development. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that all persons have intrinsic dignity; it is this dignity that provides the basis for all human rights. This reality should drive and order the work that is pursued here, and precipitate the question, “How can we best serve the needs of the human person?” Only with a full understanding of the human person, with his or her physical, mental, spiritual, social and emotional needs, can we pursue policies that lead to integral human development.

With this as our foundation, it is clear that authentic human development begins with investment in the human person. What does it mean to invest in the human person? This can only be accomplished within a holistic paradigm that respects the dignity and complexity of each human being. It begins by investing in the things that human beings need for fulfillment and productivity; the most basic of these are healthcare and education.

Adequate healthcare promotes a healthy population and is essential to the ability of a person to live up to their potential. Women’s access to health care is a key indicator of development, impacting both maternal and child health. High maternal and infant death rates are indicative of social and medical failure, and each death has a devastating impact on the family, the community, and economic and social development. Women should be able to live happy, flourishing lives; however maternal health policies that focus primarily on family planning do not ensure healthy pregnancies and deliveries. These are ensured through investment in skilled birth attendants, prenatal and postnatal care and provision of health education for women and families.

Education addresses the intellectual and social needs of the human person; it is one of the most important means of empowering persons with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the development process. Investing in the human person through education is a multi-dimensional task. It not only entails an adequate educational system with trained, uncorrupt teachers but also the elimination of barriers which prevent attendance, especially for the girl child. Investment in infrastructure, including roads and means of transportation, fosters student access. Systems should be developed to retain boys and girls in school, such as adequate record-keeping and provision of hygiene supplies for adolescent girls as they begin menstruation.

Investment in the human person fosters integral human development and thus greater economic and social flourishing. Educated, healthy persons enter the labor force at a higher level and are retained longer, leading to greater economic productivity. When persons have their basic needs met and are equipped through education, they can invest their time in intellectual, social, and cultural activities. The human person, with his or her capacity and creativity, can develop new ways of engaging the world, effecting areas of resource management, distribution and sustainability. Healthy and educated parents can raise healthy future generations, perpetuating societal and economic growth. The promotion of healthcare and education is not only critical to achieving authentic, sustainable development, but more importantly is fitting to the dignity of persons. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that human dignity and a holistic understanding of the person is the only foundation on which appropriate and effective programs and policies can be developed.

WYA Declaration on Population and Economics

New York, March 2011

We are young people of diverse ethnic, religious, cultural, and economic backgrounds from every region of the world. Many of us are from the developing world, which has large, young populations capable of innovation and creativity, a driver of economic growth. Some of us are from the developed world, which currently has lower fertility rates, ageing populations and in some cases stalled economic growth. As young people, we are concerned about the relationship between population and economic prosperity. A proper understanding of this relationship is necessary in order to propose policies that will reduce poverty and lead to both human and economic flourishing.

The economy is the system of production and management of material wealth in a given society. Proper social and cultural development is a necessary condition for, rather than a result of, a thriving economy. When societies are built upon respect for human dignity and the family, sustainable economic growth follows, demonstrating that cultural and human capital are the primary resources driving overall human development.

The intangibility of human capital makes the relationship between population and economics complex. The potential of the human person to generate wealth using knowledge, skills and creativity is unique and reflects an aspect of human dignity. Therefore, investing in the human person, in a climate of freedom and respect, leads to integral human development and economic growth. Investing in the human person requires investing in healthcare and education, as healthy and educated persons can reach their potential in the workplace, engage civilly and raise healthy families, thus contributing to the economy. A society that recognizes, supports, and encourages the value of occupations that respect human dignity, including informal care-giving, allows for the maximization of human capital and economic growth.

Since human capital is our most important resource, responsible stewardship is a necessary condition of sustainable economic development. Population management programs categorize human beings, especially vulnerable populations, as burdens instead of essential participants in long-term economic development. The premise that fixed resources and equitable distribution require fewer individuals is not only flawed but inconsistent with human dignity. Population management programs ignore the real causes of economic growth: anti-corruption policies, protection of basic human rights, access to education and investment in infrastructure.

Human capital is first and best developed within the family, the basic unit of society. It is within the family that children first understand their dignity, realize their potential and are prepared to be responsible agents of economic and social development. We recognize that both the role of the mother and the father are significant to the child’s development. Civil society, governments, and international institutions can play an important role in the development of human capital by creating supportive environments in which families thrive.

We call on civil society, governments and international institutions to invest in the human person, and to work with us to build societies which foster economic and human flourishing.

Population and Economics: A Complex Relationship

2011-04-13T17:21:00.001-06:00

It permeates everything we do at the Commission on Population and Development. It’s an automatic assumption. Presumed to be so. It’s the premise we rely on to make policy decisions. The formula is simple: in order to achieve economic growth and human development, there have to be fewer people so that our finite resources can be distributed equitably. This doctrine, so unequivocally determined that it cannot be questioned, seems to make sense. We have a limited number of resources. People keep on living longer and having children, so population is growing exponentially. Since resources need to be spread out, and don’t multiply exponentially, the only solution is to have fewer people to consume them. The alternative is what Malthus predicted: poverty and then death.

Well there’s a problem with the simple formula: people are complex. They’re wildcards. They’re not always predictable. And the best part? The creativity of the human person, manifesting itself in a myriad of ways across the generations, has inestimable value and the potential to bring society out of poverty.

You see, even if resources are tight, the human person is capable of spreading them around so that everyone gets his share. After all, it is the human person who has developed the medical knowledge and tools to increase life expectancy by leaps and bounds across the developed and developing world in the last century. The point is, we have the resources, but the resources just don’t get to everyone. That’s where the genius of the human person, applying the knowledge and skills he has developed through education, can transform the world.

This all brings us to the present Commission, where we are reviewing the ICPD Programme of Action within the context of “fertility, reproductive health and development.” What could we possibly say that is new, if the assumption is that lowered fertility will increase economic prosperity and human development? As young people, we hope that a reevaluation of the relationship between population and economics can occur, so that together we can find person-centered approaches to development.

The first step towards a person-centered approach is to recognize that people are drivers of development and not hindrances it. It is people who discover, through developing new technologies and systems of production and management, how to interact with the world in a more efficient way to promote human flourishing. In order to encourage this activity, it is necessary to invest in human capital by investing in the things that human beings need for fulfillment and productivity: education, healthcare and families.

Education is necessary for human beings to further economic growth. And educated citizen can educate future generations, contribute more in the workplace, and engage society politically, thus contributing to economic growth. An educated citizen is an empowered citizen.

Healthcare is an absolute necessity if human beings are to fulfill their potential in all spheres of society. If parents are not healthy, their children are not healthy. If employees are not healthy, productivity goes down. Healthcare allows citizens to spend a longer time in employment. All of this is a prerequisite to economic and human development.

When governments strengthen and support families, the place where all people first understand their potential to contribute to society and their roles in economic and social development, they support economic growth. For many, families are the means of staying out of poverty, so when they thrive, future generations thrive.

It’s time to reexamine what we think about the relationship between people and economics. The young people of the world are waiting for this conversation.

WYA Declaration on Population and Economics

New York, March 2011

We call on civil society, governments and international institutions to invest in the human person, and to work with us to build societies which foster economic and human flourishing.

When Populations Age

2011-04-13T17:04:00.002-06:00

The World Youth Alliance recognizes that regions of the world are at different stages of demographic transition. Regions in an advanced stage of demographic transition are aging. Population aging is caused on the one hand by a decrease in fertility and on the other hand by overall progress in global health. The latter has permitted a drop in child and maternal mortality; it has also enabled the population at large to remain healthy and active up to a more advanced age.

Over the years, a global population growth has given rise to the concern that demands – especially demands for food – created by large young populations could not be fulfilled. This concern has been the justification for encouraging people to reduce family sizes. This has been the rationale behind population management policies such as Chinas’, where people are allowed only one child per family. More recently, the government of the Philippines has debated a law proposal in which it encouraged its population to make responsible choices in family planning, and expressly favored two-child family size.

Population management policies that coerce parents to have a certain number of children are not only contrary to the basic right of all couples to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children. They are also based on the faulty assumption that overall population growth is caused by families who have more children than a given ideal number. This assumption unduly puts the burden of culpability on the shoulders of these families.

The World Youth Alliance believes that high fertility and lack of family planning are not the only causes of global population growth. Rather, this growth has been caused by increased life expectancy. In the last decades, the overall fertility rate has dropped. However, this fertility drop has not prevented overall population growth: In Europe, it is population aging that creates concern, now that the region is under the replacement rate required for stabilization.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes that young populations do not hinder development but can facilitate it. Post-War Europe was reconstructed by a young population and reached a high standard of living. In a similar way, the young population of Hong Kong did not hinder the economic miracle in the region but facilitated it. Therefore equating young populations with underdevelopment is untrue. Development depends on access to education and healthcare.

Policies aimed at reducing population growth through mainstreaming family planning practices / use of contraceptives should be attentive not reach the excessive adverse results. A dramatic decrease in fertility has already led to an insufficiently low fertility rate in Western Europe, where populations age with a sparse young population taking over. Such policies do not ultimately serve new generations: Where social security systems are not able to overcome social costs related to aging i.e. youth unemployment, retirement and health care for the elderly, youth has to face disproportional simultaneous burdens of work and care for their elderly. Moreover, such contexts generate an environment prone to potential intergenerational conflicts.

As a global coalition of young people, we urge governments to focus their resources on providing education and health care information to their young populations, and to associate their experienced citizens to direct their resourceful youth on the path of long-term development.

WYA Declaration on Population and Economics

New York, March 2011

We call on civil society, governments and international institutions to invest in the human person, and to work with us to build societies which foster economic and human flourishing.

Declaration on Population and Economics

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the primary resources driving overall human development.

The intangibility of human capital makes the relationship between population and economics complex. The potential of the human person to generate wealth using knowledge, skills and creativity is unique and reflects an aspect of human dignity. Therefore, investing in the human person, in a climate of freedom and respect, leads to integral human development and economic growth. Investing in the human person requires investing in healthcare and education, as healthy and educated persons can reach their potential in the workplace, engage civilly and raise healthy families, thus contributing to the economy. A society that recognizes, supports, and encourages the value of occupations that respect human dign ity, including informal care-giving, allows for the maximization of human capital and economic growth.

We call on civil society, governments and international institutions to invest in the human

person, and to work with us to build societies which foster economic and human flourishing.

Consensus on the Declaration was achieved among over twenty Young WYA Certified Members on March 24th, 2011 at World Youth Alliance Headquarters in New Yoork City.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: World Youth Alliance commends recommendation to deny patents for embryonic stem cell research

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Brussels: March 17, 2011

The World Youth Alliance, a global coalition of young people promoting the dignity of the human person in policy and culture, welcomes the conclusions of the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Yves Bot, in the case Bürstle vs. Greenpeace (released on 10^th March 2011). The Advocate General, in recommending that a patent for embryonic stem cell research be denied to the Plaintiff, stated that the research involved necessarily involved the destruction of human embryos, and as such, its use for industrial or commercial purposes violated the dignity of the human person. World Youth Alliance sees this as a first step in recognizing the inherent dignity of the person from conception to natural death, and that embryonic stem cell research is a violation of that dignity.

The commercialization of the human body raises serious questions relating to the violation of the dignity of the person. At stake in the current case, was the patenting of the human embryo. The case examined the claim of a German researcher who sought to patent his research, which involved a proposal to cure neurological disorders using embryonic stem cell research. The Advocate General noted that the research involved extraction of cells from embryos at the blastocyst stage, which necessarily destroyed the human embryo. Because the research involved the destruction of human life for industrial or commercial purposes, it was ruled that this procedure could not be patented.

“The Advocate General’s legal analysis shows that embryonic stem cell research cannot be patented because destruction of human embryos for commercial purposes violates the integrity of the human body and therefore human dignity,” states Marie-Caroline Leroux, WYA Europe’s Regional Director. “This is a first step in recognizing that all research that destroys human life is a violation of human dignity and therefore human rights.”

The Advocate General’s recommendation will be forwarded to the European Court of Justice who will make the final decision in the Bürstle vs. Greenpeace case. Decisions of the ECJ rarely go against the direction and guidance of the Advocate General.

For more information on the World Youth Alliance and our advocacy work in Europe, please contact Marie-Caroline Leroux (mariecaroline@wya.net).

Experiencia en el ISF 2009: Ana Laura Méndez (Costa Rica)

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Ana Laura Méndez de Costa Rica nos cuenta sobre su participación en el Foro Internacional de Solidaridad 2009.

Participar en el International Solidarity Forum (ISF) de la WYA es una experiencia muy enriquecedora e inolvidable, desde cualquier punto de vista que lo veás. ¡Definitivamente no te lo podés perder!

En el ISF tendrás una semana intensa durante la cual trabajarás en las Naciones Unidas, discutirás temas que están afectando al mundo, que nos afectan a todos, escucharás a líderes mundiales y hasta podrás almorzar al lado de ellos (as). A través de la WYA tu voz será tomada en cuenta y así estarás aportando tu granito de arena a la promoción de la dignidad humana en el mundo.

No te sorprendás si mientras caminas por los pasillos te encuentras a Ban Ki Moon o a algún otro líder mundial. (A mí me pasó).

Además, en pocos días se aprende montones no solo de los expertos que llegan a participar en el ISF sino de todos los delegados de distintas partes del mundo que son miembros de la WYA. Tendrás nuevos amigos, trabajarás, aprenderás de sus culturas, cantarás, bailarás y disfrutarás mucho con ellos, los días se harán cortos y aunque el cansancio puede llegar, hay que aprovechar cada momento al máximo.

Y si eso fuera poco, estarás en Nueva York, una ciudad que definitivamente te encantará y tendrá mucho que ofrecerte. Tendrás la oportunidad de conocer, compartir, comer, pasear, comprar, en fin, disfrutar montones. No te olvides de darte una vuelta por el Central Park, o caminar por la Quinta Avenida,

Soho, Wall Street, Times Square, ir a la Estatua de la Libertad, La Gran Central Station, el Empire State Building, ver un show de Broadway … o simplemente sentir el ritmo de la ciudad. Siempre hay algo que hacer y que descubrir en Nueva York.

Para cuando el ISF termine estoy segura que sentirás muchas ganas de quedarte, vivir todo de nuevo y sobretodo seguir apoyando el trabajo de la WYA a nivel mundial."

Empowering Women

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ESPERANZA! A Publication World Youth Alliance to the Commission on the Status of Women

The World Youth Alliance would like to complement the delegates of the 55^th Commission on the Status of Women for their work at this commission. Thank you for your defense and promotion of human dignity.

The World Youth Alliance supports the work of the Commission on the Status of Women and its efforts to promote and empower women and girl children. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that all persons have an intrinsic dignity; it is this dignity that provides the basis for all human rights. All persons are equal in dignity regardless of sex, race, culture or creed and this equality demands equal participation in the development process including full and equal access to education. Equal access to education for women and girls is the only proper response to their dignity as persons.

Through education, women are empowered with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the whole development process. Education, including training and access to science and technology are increasingly urgent in a world of economic and technological changes. Education not only empowers women emotionally and socially, but can also contribute to their economic empowerment, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and other national and international development goals.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes education is a foundational element of development. The goal of education must be to help people recognize their dignity and the dignity of others and equip them with the necessary tools to exercise their potential. Understanding and exercising one’s own potential is authentic empowerment, and is essential to the sustainable development of society. When every member of a population is aware of how their education contributes to development, they will be able to fulfill their responsibility in society.

Interrelated issues of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment all effect women’s access to education and are compounded by discrimination. It is necessary for individuals, society, governments, and institutions to work in solidarity to foster the adequate conditions such as freedom, peace, and equality that lead equal access to education for women and girls. Women’s equal access to education is not only critical to achieving poverty eradication and authentic, sustainable development, but more importantly is fitting to their dignity as persons. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that human dignity is the only foundation on which appropriate and holistic programs and policies can be developed.

WYA Declaration on Women

New York, USA

2005

Who is woman? Daughter, mother, wife, patriot, policy-maker, sister, thinker, worker? The challenge of this changing world asks this question and every woman is called upon to answer.

We young people of different nations, cultures, religions, ethnicities believe that every person is endowed with intrinsic and inalienable dignity that begins at conception and extends to natural death. This dignity is inviolable and does not change regardless of the circumstances of one’s life. It is the basis for human rights.

We believe that the freedom of the human person is most fully and rightly lived in the gift of ourselves to others. In the act of self-gift, the human person answers the question, “Who am I?” through the experience of love. Equal in dignity, and in a way that is complementary to man, woman is unique in her capacity for love and so can experience freedom in a radical way through her gift of self.

In motherhood, which is a continual invitation to self-gift, woman develops society through the transmission of life.

Woman recalls to humankind its humanity in a profound recognition of the dignity of each person. Woman is the architect of authentic peace from the most basic cell of society to the highest levels of policy and decision making, constructing conditions in which persons are given the chance to live in accordance with their dignity.

The talents of woman foster and preserve the beauty of each culture. When woman exercises a key role in building, designing and protecting societies, her participation enriches and sustains the culture for herself, her family and community and for all generations to follow.

Through her gift of self, every aspect of woman’s life is enriched and transformed and society in turn is transformed on every level.

Women and Work

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Esperanza! A World Youth Alliance Publication to the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes that all persons have an intrinsic dignity; it is this dignity that provides the basis for all human rights. We recognize that all persons are equal in dignity regardless of sex, race, culture or creed and this equality demands equal participation in the development process especially access to education and decent work. Equal access to education for women and girls, including science and technology education and skills training, is the only proper response to their dignity as persons.

Education, including science and technology, not only equips women with the tools they need to take part in decent work, but more importantly empowers them with the confidence to dream and to pursue their goals. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that in providing access to education, women and girls are enabled to exercise their freedom to choose their own vocation and future. We recognize the many gifts of women that empower them to participate in development in a multitude of ways, from the very heart of development in the primary care of children and the family, to successful careers in all areas of the workforce. Authentic equal opportunity for women should not force women to conform to one particular career path or model, but must recognize that care-giving and motherhood are not only career options, but have great worth and are essential for the development of society and culture. We recognize that as women are empowered to make choices about their futures, there must be social frameworks that support these choices. The promotion of gender parity in the workforce must take into account the freedom of women to choose an alternative vocation. We must not only facilitate decent and equal career paths for women, but also respect their choice to act as mothers and family caregivers. It is important to work with women and men to develop suitable solutions for the care of children and to build social inclusion networks that enable women to use their skills and talents to contribute to society.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes the inherent dignity of all persons. We affirm that every person is free, possessing the power to choose to act in accordance with the reality of the dignity of all persons, and to freely determine their vocation and their future. Increasing access to education, including science and technology, and promoting equal opportunity in the labor

force empowers women with the tools.

The World Youth Alliance is a global coalition of young people from over 100 countries committed to promoting the dignity of the person and building solidarity among developed and developing nations. We train young people to work at the regional and international levels to impact policy and culture. Through this lived experience of the dignity of the person and the structures they require in order to choose the future that most corresponds with their goals and dreams.

Engineering a Path to Empowerment

We are told as young people of a prosperous nation that the need for responsible citizenship is more necessary today than ever before. We are exhorted that we can make a difference. We are given the charge to pursue our dreams and build a future of our own. And so the questions are raised in our minds, “How can I make a difference?” and “What must I do to achieve this goal?”

As a young girl, I was encouraged by my parents in my fascination and desire to study mathematics and science. I was taught that gaining knowledge through education would become the most valuable asset in allowing me to make a difference in the world. The trust my family gave me supported my decision to pursue an engineering degree at the university level. Learning the fundamentals of math and science and implementing analytical and critical thinking skills in technological applications allowed me to participate in a fast-paced culture of innovation and change. Numbered among a few women in a crowded thermodynamics lecture or being the only female on an engineering design team, I was empowered by having accomplished a success few others had achieved.

I was aware that most young women my age were discouraged by the lack of female students enrolled in the science and engineering departments. It was common to discuss amongst friends and classmates that a potential career in technology seemed counterintuitive for a woman to pursue if she wished to remain in the home as a full-time mother. I witnessed firsthand my own mother who chose to put educational and career goals aside to care for my siblings and me in the home. Although she was one of the first people to encourage me in my pursuit of being on the cutting edge of technology and gaining the education to establish a long-term and sustainable career, she showed me that my technological endeavors did not have to be the ultimate end to which I was headed.

The training I received as an engineer provided me the tools to think critically about my path to success and the freedom to choose the future I was building. I recognized that I was more than the sum of my education and had many gifts I was capable of using. My mother first showed me the example of using such gifts as my ability to teach, encourage and inspire.

Access to education and opportunities for employment empowered me with a confidence to pursue dreams of my own. It is my hope that this future includes becoming a mother for my own children as mine was for me.

Amanda, 26, USA

EMPOWERING GIRLS AND WOMEN THROUGH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

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The World Youth Alliance recognizes that all persons have an intrinsic dignity which demands respect for the human body, human life and human flourishing. The biological and social nature of human sexuality demands an approach to reproductive health that takes the whole person into account. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that a knowledge-based approach to reproductive health will help persons to understand more fully their physiological and reproductive capacities and more importantly will develop a greater respect of our biological potential and wonder. This leads to a greater sense of one’s own self-worth and value, and the worth and value of others, a solidarity that promotes the flourishing of persons and societies.

Knowledge-based reproductive health and education builds on the most recent medical developments on women’s reproductive health, and the recognition that human sexuality is both biological and social in nature and constitutes just one part of the whole human person. Knowledge-based reproductive health methods teach a woman to understand her fertility and reproductive system, enabling pregnancy achievement or avoidance, with the same use-effectiveness as the pill. Uniquely, this method tracks a woman’s biomarkers providing a “snapshot” of her full reproductive health-identifying infertility, cysts and endometriosis prior to the onset of symptoms. This knowledge is also important for men; learning the intricacies of a woman’s reproductive health system, men can more fully respect women, and learn to work together to achieve sexual and family goals. Understanding sexuality in both its biological and social nature develops free and mature decision making and self-control. This model recognizes the relation between character and future health and well-being. The daily discipline required to achieve its results encourages future-mindedness, self-control, character development and academic achievement.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes that a knowledge-based approach to reproductive health has the whole person as its basis and human flourishing as its end. It proposes to develop a more holistic and healthy identity by placing sexuality within its proper context of a person’s whole life, their goals, desires and purpose. This approach is critical to ensuring long-term health and well-being, and empowering women and men with the skills and character to make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual choices, marriage and child-rearing and educational, career and vocational goals.

WYA Interview with Miriam Grossman, MD.

What are the hidden challenges and needs facing girls today that are currently under served?

Most people are aware of the social, educational, health and other challenges facing young girls today. Overlooked is the fact that girls have unique biological sensitivities that increase their vulnerability to the negative consequences of sexual activity. For example, the adolescent cervix is a way biology tells girls to wait to become sexually active. It’s immature and vulnerable to infection due to a delicate area called the transformation zone. The T-zone is covered by only one layer of cells, so bacteria and viruses, especially HPV, can take up residence with ease. With time, the T-zone is replaced by many layers of cells that are more difficult to penetrate, making infection less likely.

What is comprehensive sex education and is it important?

Sex education, like all health matters, should be based on biological truths. That’s obvious, right? But the websites and curricula created for young people by “comprehensive” sex educators omit critical biological facts. Contrary to their claims, these groups do not provide students with medically accurate, up to date information. The priority of organizations like Planned Parenthood and SIECUS is radical social change. While it is noble to fight social injustice, the goal of health education must be to keep people out of the doctor’s office. When sex education is based on social agendas instead of science, it gives young people a false sense of security, and the consequences are disastrous.

Your approach to reproductive health and sexual education has focused on science and knowledge based methods. In your research and practice, what have you discovered is missing in comprehensive sex education?

There are a staggering number of critical items that are omitted from reproductive health and sexual education, among them:

*Intimate behavior causes the release of a hormone from the brain that promotes feelings of attachment and trust, even if you are with a stranger. This appears to be particularly true in girls and women.

*All sexually transmitted infections and HIV are 100% avoidable by delaying sexual activity, finding someone else who waited, and then remaining monogamous. From a health perspective, that is the ideal.

*A girl’s immature cervix increases her vulnerability to genital infections. HIV aside, girls and women carry 80% of the burden of negative consequences from early sexual behavior and multiple partners.

*Feces are filled with dangerous pathogens. Contact with the anus is associated with serious infectious diseases such as salmonella, shigella, and hepatitis A, B, and C.

*The physiology and anatomy of the anus is vastly different from the vagina. Regarding HIV transmission, anal intercourse is at least twenty times more dangerous than vaginal intercourse.

*As stated on condom wrappers, breakage is more likely to occur during anal intercourse

*Oral sex with multiple partners is associated with throat cancer. There is compelling evidence that HPV causes cancer of the tongue and tonsils the same way it does in the cervix.

*Chlamydia may cause fertility problems even if it is detected and treated in a timely manner. Sex-ed material reassures girls that if they follow guidelines, get tested once or twice a year, and take antibiotics when necessary, they’ll be cured. But that’s not always the case.

In your writings you discuss the link between hormones and human bonding. What is the relationship there and how do they shape our experience and relationships with other people?

A young woman has unique biological sensitivities that increase her vulnerability to the consequences of sexual activity. For example, intimacy releases oxytocin, a primarily female hormone that fuels feelings of attachment and trust. This chemical turns red lights green. It alters brain chemistry, so she’s more likely to overlook a guy’s faults, and to take risks she otherwise wouldn’t. These are things that people should be educated about, along with all the education about contraceptives and the availability of abortion.

Going forward, how can we better protect and empower girls and women?

We need to have our sex education based on biology, not ideology. Biology flatly rejects the idea that women are just like men. Girls are protected and empowered when they have a knowledge and understanding of their unique gifts, especially their sexuality. This empowers them to make prudent decisions concerning their sexual activity, decisions which lead to greater reproductive, emotional and psychological health.

Maternal Health Matters

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Of all of the Millennium Development Goals, MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health, has seen the least progress. Globally, over half a million women die every year during pregnancy or childbirth, and 90 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries.(1) The World Health Organization (WHO) recently estimated that the global annual rate of reduction in maternal deaths is roughly 1.3 percent per year, an increase from the 1990-2005 rate of 0.4 percent. This falls far short of the 5.5 percent annual reduction necessary to achieve the global target. (2) The World Youth Alliance joins the international community in recognizing the centrality of maternal health to sustainable development.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes that all persons, women and men, have intrinsic dignity. We recognize that all persons are equal in dignity regardless of sex, race, culture or creed and this equality demands equal participation in the development process, especially access to healthcare. We recognize the unique gifts and challenges of women which require a unique, women’s-centered approach to healthcare and education. It is misguided to expect that simply giving women more access to male-centered health information and care will lead to marked advances in women’s health. The dignity of women demands that they be accorded access to health care that not only treats symptoms, but educates and empowers them to be the drivers of their own futures. A knowledge-based health care system empowers women, particularly by ensuring adequate fertility literacy, which enables women to better understand and access basic health care.

While there is a general and admirable commitment of the international community to provide basic health care to women and promote maternal heath, there exists a regrettable lack of education and information for both women and men on the topic of women’s health. This ignorance often leads women to make uninformed health decisions especially relating to pregnancy, birth and postpartum care. For men, the absence of education results in a deficiency of understanding and consequent lack of respect for women and their health.

Maternal health requires a multi-dimensional development solution. Access to basic health care is an obvious and essential component and this care must be women-centered. The education and empowerment of women regarding knowledge of their health and fertility is also critical. It is universally recognized that education empowers women. The World Youth Alliance recognizes that a knowledge-based approach to women’s health care is critical to women’s empowerment. Person-centered policies which incorporate both women’s access to health care and a knowledge-based approach to their reproductive health will ultimately be the most effective means to achieve MDG 5 and lead to authentic and sustained development.

(1) UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women, MDGs & Gender, 2011

(2) World Health Organization (WHO), Millennium Development Goals: progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals, May, 2010

WYA Declaration on Maternal Health

March 2010 ·

New York, USA

We are a global coalition of young people reflecting diverse ethnic, cultural, economic, political and social backgrounds from all regions of the world. We have observed with concern the lack of progress made on MDG 5, Improving Maternal Health, which is currently the least achieved MDG. Maternal morbidity and mortality are largely preventable and must be addressed by person--‐centered health policies that focus on the needs of women in the context of maternal health.
As mothers, women develop society in a particular way through the transmission of life. Ensuring the health of the mother and child during pregnancy and at the moment of delivery is central to the development of society. Women’s education and access to health care are key indicators of social progress. High maternal death rates are indicative of social and medical failure, and each death has a devastating impact on the family, the community, and economic and social development.

Preventable complications or disabilities arising from delivery—such as obstetric fistula—can also result in long-term suffering for the mother and community. Death and disabilities arising from pregnancy and child birth often lead to decreased quality of nutrition and education for children, and lack of security and stability for the family because of the important connection between healthy mothers and healthy children. The tragedy of maternal mortality or morbidity has disastrous consequences for women, children and families.

The causes of maternal mortality and morbidity are limited: hemorrhage, infection, obstructed labor and hypertensive disorders. These causes can be significantly addressed through investment in skilled birth attendants, and provision of health education for women and families. Improved access to basic health care, nutrition, medicines and technology are the additional means by which maternal mortality and morbidity can be reduced and eliminated. These services can be provided in cost-effective ways, and delivery systems to reach rural and marginalized communities can and should be prioritized. A knowledge-based health care system empowers women, particularly by ensuring adequate fertility literacy, which enables women to understand and access basic health care.

It is imperative to mobilize resources and strengthen political will to promote maternal health. Essential programs to ensure healthcare for mothers must be given priority in the development and funding of local, national and international health initiatives. Maternal health concerns all individuals since it is necessary for the development of healthy and prosperous societies. We call upon the international community to prioritize maternal health in its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, as agreed in the Millennium Declaration. We commit ourselves, in solidarity with governments, international institutions and civil society, to achieving the goals outlined in this Declaration, to promoting maternal health as a necessary component of fostering authentic development, and to upholding the dignity of all persons.

WYANA Applauds Justin Bieber

2011-02-21T10:46:00.000-06:00

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Pop star Justin Bieber should be commended for his recent statements about abortion and sex in Rolling Stone Magazine. In an age when young people have very few positive role models, Bieber stands apart. When asked for his views on premarital sex, he said “you should wait until you’re in love.” In the same interview, he also denounced abortion.

While he has been criticized for being naïve and uninformed, we at the World Youth Alliance believe he should be applauded for speaking out on issues that affect and influence the lives of young people. Bieber’s statements point to the importance of making responsible decisions and developing self-control. The World Youth Alliance and our one million members thank him for taking this stand.

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WYA staff member Christopher White comments on the situation:

Joy Behar has found her latest victim. Rather than going after the usual suspects such as Bill O’Reilly, Donald Rumsfeld, or the Roman Catholic Church, Behar’s new prey is teenage pop star Justin Bieber. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Bieber was asked his views on premarital sex and abortion. When Bieber commented that “I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them,” and that “I really don't believe in abortion…It's like killing a baby,” he set off fireworks among talk show commentators and the like. Naturally, one of the first to go on the attack was The View’s Joy Behar who remarked “truthfully if I want to hear about abortion from an adolescent or health issues, I’ll turn on Glenn Beck.”

Behar is well known for her fiery language and criticism of those with conservative or religious values. However, her most recent attack on sixteen year Bieber seems to be a new low. Bieber’s fan base is made up of thousands of tweens that, despite their young age, are exactly the age of those dealing with issues of relationships, sex, and yes, abortion. Recent MTV shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” seem to evidence that Justin Bieber is doing exactly what any good marketing or communications strategist would advise their client to do: speak to your audience and the issues they face.

Waiting until one is in love to have sex is a seemingly highly unattractive proposal to young, sex crazed teenagers. Nonetheless, medical and scientific research provides support to Bieber’s advice, as there’s a strong correlation between human bonding and hormones. Oxytocin is a hormone released during sexual activity that causes feelings and natural responses of attachment and trust to one’s sexual partner. When a couple engages in sexual behavior, it’s not simply just hooking up. There are real chemical changes taking place that are not simply biological, but also, emotional. And yes, sixteen year olds, despite their young age and naivety, will have this happen to them too. Shouldn’t they also be given a chance to offer their views on the subject?

Of course, as a man, Justin Bieber (and now, myself) are quickly criticized for offering our thoughts on matters related to sex and abortion. Critics like Behar, however, seem to have forgotten the phrase - and the reality - that it takes two to tango. Justin Bieber may not have the ability to become pregnant and feel the awesome responsibility to carry a child, but he has the capacity to become a father—and a father that may one day have a daughter to educate and care for. Advising and commenting that it may actually be wise to delay early sexual debut and to practice self-control is not advice limited to one sex, but rather, advice than can and should be considered societal advice.

- Christopher White

WYA, International Director of Operations

Aging: Intergenerational Solidarity in Action

2011-02-17T11:18:00.003-06:00

Esperanza on Aging at the 49th Commission on Social Development at the United Nations on February, 15th, 2011

As more persons survive into the advanced stages of life, the needs and issues of aging populations have risen to the forefront of the development process. Aging is not a separate issue from social integration, economic stability or issues of poverty.(1) In fact, the eradication of poverty has a specific dimension in the context of aging, since older persons remain one of the largest groups affected by poverty in many societies. (2) Respect and care for the elderly is the only appropriate response to their intrinsic dignity. Because of their vulnerability, older persons require the support and consideration of society and governments at every level.

As a global coalition of young people, the World Youth Alliance recognizes the dignity and value of every person and acknowledges the important role that older persons have in the integral development of younger generations. We understand that aging is a lifelong process and universal to the human family. We are all members of an aging society; policies and agendas created for the elderly today will be ours tomorrow.

The family plays a critical role in achieving sustainable development, and is pivotal to the physical, social and economic well-being of the elderly. It is primarily within families that care and support is provided for the elderly worldwide. (3) The family is also the school of solidarity and deeper humanity in which elders fulfill the role of educating and passing on values to the younger generation. This role has ensured man’s survival and progress and promoted a culture in which intergenerational solidarity fosters the common good, especially the realization of responsibilities towards future generations.

As stated in the Madrid Plan of Action, “Intergenerational ties, obligations and solidarity remain at the very heart of every society regardless of its stage of development.” (4) Respect and care for the elderly, which has been one of the few constants in human culture everywhere, reflects a basic interplay between self-preserving and society-preserving impulses which has ensured the survival and progress of the human race. Worldwide, the overall responsibility of the family to provide traditional care and support the needs of the aging is diminishing. Therefore, there is an evident need to educate the general public, and in particular families, with regard to the aging process. Poverty eradication requires recognizing the role that families play in the lives of all persons, including the young and the old.

(1) Implications of Aging Para.2

(2) MPA (B.) Para. 6

(3) MPA (C.) Para. 8

(4) MPA (C.) Para. 8

Elderly Wisdom and Memories

As a young person who was nurtured within a loving family, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of the family to the sustained development of society and culture. It was through my family that I first and most strongly experienced love and recognition as a unique person with worth and dignity. Relationships with my elderly relatives have taught me to respect and care for older persons and to value the unique gifts they bring to society. I have been given the great gift of care-giving for my grandparents as they grew older, deteriorated in health and mind, and eventually passed away. These experiences were irreplaceable and precious to me and to my development as a person.

Attending closely to my grandmother as she slowly suffered and her body was ravaged by cancer, I was privileged to be a witness to her life and to what it truly means to “die with dignity” as she made a gift of herself to the last, even as she was receiving care for her most basic of needs. Although she lacked the capacities deemed by many as “useful,” she was able to give us her love and to call each member of my family to a deeper discovery of themselves as persons through a mutual giving and receiving of ourselves.

This week marks one year since her death last February. It is in grateful memory of her that I recognize the importance of older persons in the life of the family and of society as a whole, and of promoting projects and activities that grow intergenerational solidarity. I value the family as the first school of personhood and the fundamental unit that enables social function and development. It is crucial to give families the place of primacy in development programs so that the formation, education, care and mutual responsibility of all persons can begin at the earliest stages of development and continue to the end of life.

Gabrielle, 24, USA

Youth for Intergenerational Solidarity

2011-02-17T11:03:00.003-06:00

Esperanza on Youth at the 49th Commission on Social Development at the United Nations on February, 14th, 2011.

Youth for Intergenerational Solidarity

The long fight against poverty has had limited real and sustainable results. However, the current focus on social inclusion as essential to the eradication of poverty has brought renewed energy and vision to the battle. It is universally agreed upon that special attention must be given to youth as one of the most vulnerable groups of society, and particularly susceptible to social exclusion and the intergenerational poverty.⁽¹⁾

Young people are the most disproportionately affected by poverty. Not only is the number of youth living in poverty dramatically larger than that of other groups, but the experience of poverty itself can shape the way young people interact with the world. Young people who experience the fruits of poverty such as hunger, malnutrition, lack of education and access to basic healthcare need strong support structures to receive the help and vision they need to identify a path and means out of poverty. The strongest support structure is the family. While all families are not necessarily strong, the presence of a strong family can make the difference between continuing in intergenerational cycles of poverty, or breaking out of them.⁽²⁾

The support provided by the family ameliorates the effects of poverty by providing young people with a supportive, inclusionary environment from the very beginning of their lives. The family is a person’s first and most formative experience of society and inclusion. It provides a consistent, evolving experience of social inclusion and inter-generational co-operation through all stages of a person’s life from birth to natural death. The family is the primary place where young people are formed and encouraged to flourish. Even in the case where access to social networks is limited, the family can serve as a concrete experience of inclusion and support for vulnerable individuals.

The family can also be the engine through which group solidarity takes place to overcome poverty and exclusion. For example, the sacrifices that older siblings or parents make for younger children to go to school, in order to break the intergenerational cycles of poverty, are well known. These sacrifices not only enable the children to receive an education, but in and of themselves provide natural lessons in cooperation, hard work and the importance of education and future goals. As younger children see the sacrifices made for them by those whom they look up to in their family, they are encouraged to follow their example, and so the family becomes the primary school of personhood and societal engagement. This is just one of the many ways that the family serves as the agent of change in breaking poverty cycles.

The World Youth Alliance recognizes the centrality of family in the fight against poverty and in the realization of sustainable development. Our wide membership of young people from over 160 countries, and our grassroots projects which promote holistic, person-centered development give us real experience to speak of and a strong voice to speak with. We are privileged to represent our members at the international commissions of the UN, as we acknowledge the importance of protecting and promoting the family in order to achieve the eradication of poverty and authentic, sustainable development.

(1) Young People Today and in 2015: World Youth Report, 2005, Chapter. 3, P.61. (2) Young People in a Globalizing World: World Youth Report, 2003. Ch. 15, P. 400

Poverty Eradication: Supporting Future Families

To eradicate poverty: is there a more noble goal? There are two ways to approach a problem: fighting either the symptom of a problem or its causes. Fighting the causes of poverty is the best long-term investment any government can make.

I come from a very strong family; a family in which I lived in an atmosphere of peace and stability, where a deep and extensive dialogue was present, lively and unrestricted. My family always provided me with support at all levels: affective, educational and professional encouragement as well as financial. They encouraged my desire to learn languages, to travel and study abroad. But the rarest gift I received was the trust my family gave me.

Our generation will form the families of the future, on which both national and also international economies will be built. As young people of the world and future parents and investors in the next generations, we ask the international community to champion projects of intergenerational solidarity and support. As young people we acknowledge what older generations can bestow on us and our children, and we seek to prevent intergenerational conflicts in which the care and needs of the elderly might give rise to financial tensions.

Poverty eradication starts with strengthening the most dynamic unit of society: the family. Social recognition, encouragement of internal unity and strength, political engagement and financial encouragement will ensure that families are able to live in solidarity with the most vulnerable persons in the human family.

-- Bernadette, 28, France

49th Commission on Social Development

2011-02-17T09:47:00.006-06:00

World Youth Alliance Oral Statement

February 14, 2011

Thank you Mr. Chair, esteemed delegates and members of civil society.

1. The World Youth Alliance, a global coalition of young people promoting the dignity of the human person in policy and culture, welcomes the opportunity to review the current year’s priority theme for the Commission for Social Development: poverty eradication. We are convinced that people are the most important drivers of development and that human creativity is a critical resource and a catalyst for development. In preparation for the 20th anniversary of the International Year of the Family, we want to re-affirm the importance of the family as the fundamental unit of society. The family is indeed the fundamental community where poverty can first and efficiently be fought, thus addressing the primary needs of the most vulnerable members of our communities such as young people, older persons, and persons with disabilities.

2. Poverty eradication takes place at an individual level, by educating and investing in persons, and enabling their creativity and natural capacities to develop and flourish. It requires whole communities to work together for the common good. Poverty eradication, which disproportionately affects young people, requires strong families who take their duties and responsibilities in caring for their members and building intergenerational solidarity seriously. The State must support efforts that encourage person-centered solutions for the eradication of poverty, as well as encouraging the development of opportunities and programs that contribute to human flourishing.

The Family

3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society. The family is the first and fundamental environment where children are welcomed in life, and first experience what it means to be loved and accepted unconditionally. We recognize this as the primary purpose and function of the family.

4. The family is “natural” because it is both prior to, and necessary for, the development of free, healthy and flourishing States. Thus support for the family should be accorded at the political and the cultural level because of its importance for social functioning, and because of the essential role the family provides in caring for children, the aged and the most vulnerable.

Youth

5. The launch of the International Year of Youth on 12 August 2010 marked the beginning of a year’s worth of activities aimed at encouraging youth participation and dialogue and mutual understanding. Young people commit themselves to dialogue on issues affecting them.

6. For youth, family is of primary importance since the family influences the way in which young people see the world. Family support directly impacts the ability of a child to do well in school, and to overcome the effects of poverty. Supporting and strengthening the family is essential to combating poverty.

Persons with Disabilities

7. Promoting the equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms for disabled persons shows our respect for the diversity of the human condition. Persons with disabilities have a unique contribution to make in society, and encourage us to fulfill our duty to aid and protect them.

8. There are approximately 690 million persons with disabilities in the world and 80 percent of them live in developing countries, many in conditions of poverty. They suffer isolation because of stigma, discrimination, myths, misconceptions, and ignorance. While poor people are more likely to have a disability because of the conditions in which they live, disability is likely to make people poorer because of limited opportunities and discrimination. Too often, governments and communities fail to provide special health care and education needed for the integral development of persons with disabilities, which generates cycles of poverty through generations.

9. Both in developed and developing countries, individuals are targeted for termination based solely on their disability; genetic diagnosis and prenatal screening technologies are often used to identify persons with disabilities prior to birth. Member States should adopt measures to eradicate these violations which encourage poverty and underdevelopment.

10. The family is the primary place where persons with disabilities can be cared for and learn how to care. It is within this institution that the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society are defended and protected.

Older Persons

11. Older persons are those persons ages 60 or 65 and older, reaching retirement ages in most developed countries. In the past few decades, issues related to ageing populations have risen to the forefront of the development agenda, since greater numbers of persons are surviving into the advanced stages of life.

12. Legalization of euthanasia has followed from the debate on issues of an ageing population. Under the framework of “dying with dignity,” some countries have legalized assisted suicide for people suffering chronic physical and mental pain. It is acknowledged that in various cases assisted suicide was carried out for people who appeared to be lucid. Nevertheless, respect and care for the elderly, which has been one of the few constants in human culture everywhere, reflects a basic interplay between self- preserving and society-preserving impulses which have ensured the survival and progress of the human race. Assisted suicide will lead, over time, to a decrease in political will to provide palliative care and health-care services. Pressuring the terminally ill to take their own lives when they believe they have become a burden violates human dignity.

13. Since the family is the school of solidarity, it is necessary to enable the family as a whole, including its male members, to participate in and share the burden of caregiving. Elders fulfill the role of educating and passing on values to the younger generation; this role has ensured man’s survival and progress and promoted a culture in which intergenerational solidarity fosters the common good, especially the realization of responsibilities towards future generations.

14. Worldwide, the overall responsibility of the family to provide the traditional care and support the needs of the ageing is diminishing. Therefore, there is an evident need to educate the general public, and in particular families, with regard to the ageing process.

Conclusion

15. Poverty eradication requires recognizing the role that families play in the lives of all persons, including young people, persons with disabilities and older persons. Social development, and therefore economic development, cannot occur without this fundamental recognition by the State and society, and a corresponding support structure for the family. We call upon the commission to reflect these recommendations in the resolution “Poverty Eradication.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5lUeZP5I70

¡Nosotros También Podremos!

2011-02-02T12:55:00.006-06:00

Primer Track A Presencial en Venezuela

Es extraordinario lo que puede pasar dentro de nosotros, sólo con sentarnos a reflexionar sobre lo que es la dignidad, algo sobre lo que todos hablamos pero que difícilmente podemos definir y que, peor aún, si no conocemos, menos estaramos en capacidad de defender, aunque sea parte de nuestra intrínseca naturaleza humana. Haber tenido la oportunidad de ser parte del primer Track A presencial de Venezuela, me dió la oportunidad de hacerlo y ¡vaya! es un ejercicio de meditación extraordinario. Pude comprender que es un concepto tan profundo, que nuestra dignidad, aparte de ser

inalienanble, pu

ede

ser parte de nosotros, incluso, antes de nuestra concepción, pues cuando nuestros padres empiezan a planificar concebirnos, ya somos (para ellos) "dignos" de ser parte de ellos, de ser parte de una familia (su familia), de ser parte de una sociedad (su sociedad, nuestra sociedad), de ser parte del mundo (su mundo, nuestro mundo) nuestra familia global. Y al creernos dignos de la sociedad que los acoge a ellos, somos dignos de la sociedad, y la sociedad digna de nosotros. Es como un principio de reciprocidad complementaria.

Aprender y/o repasar temas y obras de personas tan trascendentales como Gandhi, el Dalai Lama, Juan Pablo II, Nelson Mandela, es algo que siemrpe quise hace

r y "nunca me di el ti

empo". Mi experiencia en la WYA, me sirvió también para eso, para tomarme el tiempo de hacerlo, incluso re-leer la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, y en compañía de otros jóvenes tan talentosos y aportes tan valiosos como los que hacían mis compañeros y que, creamos debates tan buenos, que a veces se hizo necesario cortarlos, p

ara poder avanzar.

Para no alargar más todo el cuento, creo que está muy bien diseñado el Track, las lecturas seleccionadas, y ese toque que le dimos nosotros de hacer la última sesión en un lugar distinto, en contacto con la naturaleza y en un ambiente familiar, como lo fue la casa de Chrsitel Sonnekalb en la Colonia Tovar, uno de los lugares más hermosos de nuestra bella Venezuela, le da un toque de significado mayor, desde el punto de vista pedagógico y emotivo, que hace que se logre un mejor y mayor aprendizaje.

Es nuestro compromiso impulsar, con el apoyo de toda la WYA, la apertura de una sede de WYA Venezuela, y seguir impulsando y difundiendo reivindicaciones por la dignidad, la solidaridad, esperanza y respeto de los Derechos Humanos en nuestro país, que nos pide seguir trabajando para lograr un "Acuerdo Social" que nos permita tomar el rumbo que nos lleve a superar la pobreza, el subdesarrollo, la polarización y los atropellos a la dignidad y libertad de todos los venezolanos, y empezar de una vez por todas a llevar, juntos, nuestro barco a mejor puerto. Si se pudo en Polonia, si se pudo en Irlanda, si se pudo en la India, ¡nosotros también podremos! "

José Gregorio Velásquez (WYA Venezuela)

Presidente Fundación Escuela Canaima
Premio "Arturo Úslar Pietri" (2003) / Premio a la Excelencia (2005) / Premio "Por la Caracas Posible" (2010)

THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF HAPPINESS

2010-11-03T20:15:00.003-06:00

As I watched a program on TV the other day, I started wondering if that world they were showing was the actual world, the one that we have to accept; what for dreamers is followed by a phrase like “you need to face reality.” So I started wondering: do I really have to accept things as they are?

What does “our reality” come from? Isn´t it the result of history and decisions made through our existence? Therefore, if it was we who made this version of the world, filled with cruelty, injustice, and hollow goals, wouldn´t it be in our hands to make it better and accept another reality?

I couldn´t help but thinking, are the people who produce this tv program aware of the influence on the viewers, and if they were, why would they be so light-minded that they didn´t care about the damage they could cause to a whole generation?

What is the point of creating shallow people in every possible way, starting from the attempt to complete a part of a person with material things, and the worst part, the constant using of people for shallow satisfaction? To make it a bit worse, however, in the dialogue they would talk about their actions as if they were completely logical, and therefore correct.

As I continued watching TV, I realized that most of the shows were selling that life style of being rich, shallow and using as many people as they could to satisfy themselves, and that this is the new idea of happiness. What can a teenager who is in a stage of understanding himself/herself, as well as life, get from this? Perhaps the belief that life is about trying to satisfy our immediate desires, and the saddest part, that no type of love is accepted in “the coolest lifestyle anyone could have.” What is the big fear of adding love to this image? Contradiction, I guess.

I started wondering then about the little time people take these days to analyze life, and to understand the meaning of happiness; everyone is so busy all the time, and there is so little time to wonder, wonder about the “life” that surrounds them.

As I think of this, I cannot help but remember one of the classes during the Track A training for the World Youth Alliance, where the speaker they invited to help us understand some philosophy explained the greatness of the relationship between two people, and how it is that when we touch a person we are not only touching their body, but we are touching their essence.
At that moment we are touching a person, the incredibly mysterious being that lives within that body, and how wonderful it is that we will never be able to understand them completely; in a way, we have the opportunity to continue marveling with that greatness indefinitely.

Then, having the unique opportunity that no other living being has, the opportunity to find a type of happiness so deep and fulfilling, the opportunity to choose above instinct, why do we insist on acting like mere animals that eat when they are hungry, sleep when they feel lazy, have sex when their body asks them to, no matter who the other person is, and fight to see who´s stronger and gets the bigger territory? When did we become this lazy that we do not feel like acting above these animal desires to only get our nearest satisfaction?

I wonder what could happen if more and more people started to realize the amazing chance of living and choosing the life we want to live, the infinite number of paths to transcendence and the size of the reward we could get for living a life of self-giving, of helping every person that we can in our way and knowing that through them our existence will be a bit longer and our happiness a bit more overwhelming.

Maybe if we could understand this in ourselves, this admiration for human life, we would want
other people to realize it as well. Unfortunately, in my experience I´ve noticed that many people, more than I would like to admit, don´t understand this. Or better said, they don´t want to understand it, because maybe they would have to try to have an exceptional life, and this requires a big effort.

In my case, when I realized this I started to have an even bigger respect and love for people, since I could understand that the greatness I found in myself was in every person around me. Every person became the greatest piece of art, perhaps that was not yet finished, which could only make it a bit more interesting to stay and watch for the final result.

And I guess responsibility came after: how selfish would I be if I kept this revelation and all the new-found happiness to myself? That, I believe, is not a decision we can make, it is an obligation.

Only then may we find balance, only when people who were blessed with an enormous amount of love start giving it to the least blessed people, could the purpose of life be complete. The biggest prize goes to us, for we get to live within someone else.

I invite to whoever reads this to make an experiment. I was told once that if you repeat the same action for 21 days, without missing a day, your brain recognizes it in a way that it becomes a habit you start living with, so I invite you to help a person for 21 days, in a big or a small way, if only with a smile or your time, and it could become a habit and eventually a virtue. Imagine now by the end of your life how many people could be a bit happier because of you, if every day of your life you touched someone else’s. I cannot think of a better way to achieve real happiness.

Article by Jessica Baptista

Queretaro, October 30th, 2010

“La Educación es sinónimo de preparación completa”

2010-09-07T21:34:00.003-06:00

Ignorancia, y conformismo, es hoy en día lo que vivimos. Toda la sociedad, se pregunta: ¿por qué

si contamos ya con tan avanzada tecnología, con tanta información, con tantas escuelas gratuitas y privadas nuestro país no prospera?...

La respuesta está en nosotros, no solo necesitamos educación de conocimientos teóricos,

el mismo gobierno y sociedad siempre se refieren a la educación como propia de un aula o

institución lo que no nos damos cuenta es que necesitamos educación en cuanto a valores. Pero,

en si, valores que nos permitan contribuir con nuestra sociedad ya que vivimos en una sociedad

en la que cada persona (generalizando) se preocupa por el bienestar individual, como claro

ejemplo: podemos contar con los mercados informales y la piratería, ya que nadie dice nada

ni la propia justicia porque le conviene tanto a ellos como a los vendedores y clientes. Y es que

nuestra historia y nuestra cultura “nos ha impulsado a ser así”. Nuestra tecnología, los medios de

comunicación, nos enseñan patrones de vida, utopías de la vida, en las que nos la facilitan…Pero

es que tanta nuestra mediocridad, que nos adaptamos a lo que nuestro entorno nos brinda en

lugar de transformar y crear un nuevo plan de vida.

La sociedad se queja del gobierno: “siempre es lo mismo, corrupción, injusticia, analfabetismo,

etc…”, y es evidente que la responsabilidad del buen funcionamiento de una sociedad recae sobre

el gobierno. Pero el origen del problema en realidad, somos cada uno de nosotros, cada integrante

de la sociedad.

Exigimos un cambio cualitativo cuando ni nosotros mismos somos capaces de cambiar para

nuestro propio bien y común. En particular, la respuesta de una gran transformación social en

ámbitos cualitativos, es la educación. La falta de educación es la raíz de nuestros problemas y la solución a ellos. Pero antes de ella está la propia iniciativa, ésta es la palabra clave hacia el alcance de la educación.

Toda transformación consta de un proceso:

Primero necesitamos de una motivación, que serían nuestras esperanzas para poder ser mejores

personas y transformar al mundo, siendo abiertos a aceptar que no siempre obtendremos primero el éxito, nuestras metas de forma fácil (me refiero a no tener obstáculos en nuestro camino), a levantarnos cada vez que caigamos y así podremos contar con una iniciativa. Con nuestra iniciativa seremos capaces de atrevernos a indagar en nuestro mundo, a obtener conocimientos pero no solo conformamos con la información que se nos presente sino exigir e ir más allá de lo que podamos conocer, caer en el conformismo. Así, se logra una conciencia propia. Todos estos elementos junto con la confianza en nosotros mismos y promoviendo el respeto y la motivación.

Una vez teniendo conciencia propia y con el objetivo mismo de ayudar a una transformación

social, debemos compartir a los demás un poco de lo que sabemos, así de poco en poco mover y

llegarle al mundo.

Un buen funcionamiento colectivo, comienza con el individual, el equilibrio entre clases se lograría de esta manera, al igual que la justicia y la ignorancia. No podemos seguir aceptando la idea de que el cambio”nada más no llega”, debemos entender que es un trabajo en conjunto, pero es primero por separado…

“La Educación es el medio de transformación más fuerte y clave para una sociedad”.

F. Daniela García Hernández

Éste análisis fue escrito por la estudiante de pedagodía después de su participación en el Foro Parlamentario de la Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud México 2010. Daniela asistió junto a un grupo de estudiantes universitarios al evento.

WORLD YOUTH CONFERENCE 2010: Foro de ONGs y Foro de Gobiernos

2010-08-28T00:21:00.000-06:00

La World Youth Conference Mexico 2010 comenzó el 23 de Agosto en la cuidad de León.

Este día se dió inicio al Foro Global de ONGs; al mismo concurrieron ONGs de todo el mundo vinculadas a la juventud.

En base a una Declaración Borrador debatieron en 13 mesas de trabajo las siguientes temáticas:

- Políticas Públicas e Inversión - Pobreza y Hambre - Educación - Salud - Empleo - Igualdad de Género - Tecnología e Innovación - Cultura - Accesos a la Justicia y Seguridad - Participación - Desarrollo Sustentable - Migración Internacional - Cooperación Internacional

María Boulin, miembro de Argentina y pasante de la oficina regional de Latinoamérica llevó adelante la representación de la World Youth Alliance en la reunión Global de ONGs, trabajo que llevó adelante en forma extraordinaria.

Los delegados de las 162 ONG elegidas se reunieron el día Martes 24 por la tarde a debatir en plenaria las recomendaciones hechas en cada una de las mesas de trabajo y, después de votaciones aprobaron el documento que las reunía; el objetivo: presentarlo a los delegados de los Gobiernos que asistirían al Foro de Gobiernos a realizarse desde el Miércoles 25 hasta el Viernes 27.

La mañana del 25 de Agosto se realizó la ceremonia de Inauguración. A puertas cerradas, con la sóla presencia de un grupo de delegados de ONG fueron presentadas las recomendaciones del Foro Global de ONG ante los 36 Ministros de Juventud de los 112 países presente.

La Directora Regional de la World Youth Alliance Latin America, Milagros Antonietti, encabezó la delegación de la World Youth Alliance ante el Foro de Gobiernos.

Haciendo uso de la palabra en la mesa de trabajo de Salud leyó ante los delegados de Gobiernos presentes la Declaración Oficial de la WYA respecto de las Recomendaciones del Foro Global de ONG.

Así habló en nombre de los miles de miembros jóvenes de World Youth Alliance de más de 160 países que promueven la dignidad de la persona.

La falta de referencia a la dignidad intrínseca e inalienable de la persona como fundamento de los derechos humanos, la ausencia de iniciativas orientadas al fortalecimiento de la familia, como núcleo primario donde todo ser humano se desarrolla y aprende a conocerse y a conocer a los otros, ámbito propicio para compartir y vivir6 la experiencia de la solidaridad, la inclusión de derechos y lenguaje que carecen de reconocimiento internacional son algunos de los aspectos que los jóvenes de la WYA consideran esenciales recalcar como argumento de la falta de legitimidad de la Declaración de las ONG Jóvenes.

El Viernes 27 de Agosto finalmente, y sin deliberación entre los delegados de los Gobiernos, fue aprobada la "Declaración de Guanajuato". Más de un país expresó su deseo de hacer reservas y observaciones a dicho documento.

Esta era una oportunidad única de participación juvenil y, sin embargo las recomendaciones del Foro de ONG representó la voz de una minoría y no la de la juventud mundial. Ante ello los miembros de WYA quiere compartir con ustedes su voz promoviendo la DIGNIDAD DE TODA PERSONA JÓVEN!

¡ESPERANZA!

2010-08-27T10:43:00.004-06:00

Conference Journal of the World Youth Alliance

World Youth Conference Mexico 2010, Foro legislativo
25 – 27 de agosto

________________________________________

Un estudio reciente por un grupo de jóvenes de Guatemala, Argentina e Italia demuestra resultados interesantes sobre la opinión de la juventud. José A. Ocampo e Isabel Ortiz, de la Universidad de Columbia (EE.UU.), afirman: Vivimos en un mundo joven. Casi la mitad de la población mundial está por debajo de los 25 años. Los argumentos para invertir en juventud son irrebatibles. Invertir en juventud consolida la base del capital humano de los países. Invertir en educación y servicios sociales para los jóvenes tiene grandes impactos en la productividad nacional.

LA ENCUESTA

El total de los encuestados fueron 1.614 jóvenes.
Todos los participantes en el estudio son jóvenes de entre 15 y 29 años. La media de edad fue de 21 años.
El 59,60% son mujeres y el 40,40% varones.
La muestra es representativa de jóvenes estudiantes de 5 países: México, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia y Argentina.

RESULTADOS DE LA ENCUESTA

Para 93 % la familia que funciona armónicamente, incide en el desarrollo de la autoestima y valores personales, la cultura del trabajo y la solidaridad, el progreso de la sociedad y la disminución de la pobreza, es la familia fundada en el matrimonio.
De aquí surge un dato fundamental: Los jóvenes piensan que el Estado, los Medios de Comunicación y los Organismos Internacionales no influyen decisivamente en su desarrollo personal.
El 95 % del total de jóvenes encuestados manifiestan interés por establecer relaciones afectivas estables, con proyección en el largo plazo. El 67 % del total piensa que su sexualidad debe ser ejercida responsablemente, orientándola hacia el amor (al tiempo que se evitan enfermedades de transmisión sexual y embarazos no deseados).
Para los jóvenes, la familia es la institución más importante para su desarrollo personal. Así lo piensa el 95,57% de los encuestados. Le siguen sólo la Iglesia o comunidad de fe (40,34 %) y las instituciones educativas.

”Jóvenes Iberoamericanos y Liderazgo: Los jóvenes y las políticas de juventud”. Realizada por Grupo Sólido (ARD), Jóvenes en Red (GUA) e Intermedia Consulting (ITA).

Publicado por World Youth Alliance Latin America • www.wya.net

CONFERENCIA MUNDIAL DE LA JUVENTUD 2010: FORO LEGISLATIVO

2010-08-26T06:42:00.015-06:00

“¿Qué riqueza tienen los países en desarrollo que no tienen las economías más fuertes del mundo?

¡JUVENTUD!” De esta manera comenzó la conferencia magistral del Foro Legislativo de la Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud Mexico 2010.

Dicho foro se reúne del 25 al 27 de agosto en Ciudad de México en la Cámara de Diputados y pretende discutir cómo el poder legislativo puede contribuir al mejor desarrollo de la juventud mundial. Este foro va de la mano del Foro social y el Foro de ministros que se celebra en León, Guanajuato, paralelamente. Como resultado de estos tres foros, una declaratoria final se llevará ante las Naciones Unidas.

El Foro legislativo comenzó dando la cordial bienvenida a los más de 60 diputados de todo el mundo, en su mayoría delegados de América Latina. La ceremonia de inauguración tuvo lugar en la suntuosa sala plenaria de la Cámara de diputados. Asimismo, la participación de observadores de distintos gremios no se dejó esperar. Delegados de ONGs, investigadores y estudiantes universitarios hicieron presencia en representación de la sociedad civil.

Después de la inauguración, en un salón de menor capacidad, el Sr. José Antonio Ardavín, Director de la OECD para América Latina, realizó una conferencia magistral sobre la realidad actual de la juventud alrededor del mundo. En un estudio comparativo de los países de la OECD, él demostró cómo hay una gran necesidad de invertir en temas de educación y empleo, pues sólo así, considera él, se puede crear un cambio positivo en pos del desarrollo para las vinientes generaciones.

A esto continuó un Panel de mejores prácticas encabezado por Elvira Kovac, miembro del Consejo de Europa; el miembro del parlamento británico Graham Stuart y el experto en Políticas públicas juveniles en América Latina, Sr. Ernesto Rodriguez. Los tres participantes hablaron del rol del joven en la sociedad desde su experiencia, conocimiento y punto de vista.

En fin, el primer día, informativo como fue, logró comunicar a los participantes del Foro legislativo sobre las dificultades más urgentes que encaran los jóvenes de hoy. Volviendo a la pregunta inicial, el Sr. Ardavín, indicó que los jóvenes somos la esperanza de nuestras naciones y, cómo a través de legislación, la juventud puede tener una mejor calidad de vida. Pero, ¿y los jóvenes? Aún estoy esperando que los legisladores, en la conferencia de los jóvenes, nos brinden el espacio de tener voz y voto en las políticas públicas que afectarán nuestra vida diaria.

Irónicamente mientras hablaba el panel, un grupo de jóvenes universitarios sentados en la parte de atrás de la sala, jugaban cartas. ¿No se sentían tomados en consideración? Pues que no se nos olvide a la juventud que esas decisiones del Foro legislativo afectarán nuestras vidas tarde o temprano. Pero, Sres. Legisladores, ¿cómo podemos hablar de conferencia de la juventud cuando nosotros los jóvenes no tenemos ni siquiera oportunidad de expresar la realidad que nos aflige? ¿Acaso no somos más que una estadística y no debería el discurso estar centrado en la persona, el joven en este caso?

¡Dilo fuerte, pero dilo bien!

Escrito por Christel Sonnekalb

'La prevención del VIH entre trabajadores sexuales inmigrantes'

2010-08-02T12:36:00.003-06:00

El pasado 22 de Julio, 2010 durante la XVIII Conferencia Internacional del sida* en Viena, Austria se discutió el tema sobre 'La prevención del VIH entre trabajadores sexuales inmigrantes', enfocado en hombres trabajadores sexuales chinos, extranjeros y su movilización.

Los puntos discutidos por los expositores, dos hombres de nacionalidad China (quienes no hablaban inglés) y una mujer (o transgénero) invitada en el último minuto, fueron los siguientes:

• Shenyang: es la ciudad más grande del noroeste de China, donde jóvenes chinos son reclutados específica y comúnmente por medio de anuncios en algún periódico, a través del cual, agencias de empleo publican sus ofertan para trabajadores sexuales. Este tipo de agencias ofrecen dos tipos de movilizaciones dentro del territorio nacional de la República Popular de China y sus afueras.

• Dentro de China se movilizan desde el noroeste, centro-este, y sur de China. A nivel internacional su movilización se centra más en países como Singapur, Malasia y Hong Kong.

• Para trabajar a nivel internacional, se dijo que se les daba a los trabajadores del sexo visas.

• Estas agencias trabajan como en redes, donde se reúnen ONG's, trabajadores sexuales y representantes de clientes donde se discuten temas como el cuidado de salud médica.

• Tianjin, China Gaga, es uno de los centros económicos más importantes y por ende, es una de las primeras 'paradas' donde se le da comienzo a los nuevos trabajadores sexuales antes de salir de China.

• En el grupo de inmigrantes implica el reclutar hombres y mujeres, y en ocasiones hombres y mujeres casadas. A estos se les provee servicios de salud y educación en cuanto a enfermedades venéreas y el VIH.

En el periodo de preguntas y respuestas, las respuestas fueron mayormente contestadas por la mujer, quien menciono desde un principio, que personalmente se considera trabajadora del sexo.

Yo como delegada de la Alianza Mundial de la Juventud, hice siete preguntas y un comentario al final. Mis preguntas fueron las siguientes:

1. ¿A cuántos trabajadores del sexo se les ha diagnosticado VIH o alguna ETS? R. Las encuestas no cuentan a los trabajadores del sexo porque son excluidos de la población en estudio.

2. ¿Tenemos a algún trabajador del sexo entre los expositores? R. Sólo la señora contestó diciendo que sí, que ella es una trabajadora del sexo. En lo personal, yo a ella la vi más como una persona que trabaja en la reclutamiento de jóvenes chinos y extranjeros para ser trabajadores del sexo (una chula como muchos dirían) que una trabajadora del sexo en sí. Ella difícilmente podía caminar (puesto que usaba una silla de ruedas) y se le veía que ya tenía una edad avanzada. En este tipo de trabajos se les deja de emplear por edad y estado físico.

3. ¿Qué tipo de visa se les solicita a estos trabajadores sexuales? R. ¿Qué piensas, qué tipo de visas pedimos? Jamás diremos que es para que trabajen como trabajadores del sexo en estos países, es estúpido! Cómo crees que obtuvimos la visa para venir a Viena?

4. ¿Qué sucede con aquellas personas que desean dejar de trabajar en este ámbito? ¿Existen servicios sociales para hacer una tipo de transición para un nuevo trabajo? R. Ni ella ni ninguno de los otros dos expositores contestaron esta pregunta.

5. ¿Qué hacen ustedes cuando un(a) trabajador(a) social es víctima de algún abuso, ya sea físico o sexual? ¿Acuden a la policía? R. Ninguno contestó esta pregunta.

6. ¿Qué dice o hace el gobierno de China con respecto a esos anuncios publicados en periódicos? Se sabe que el gobierno Chino tiene bajo una lupa a cualquier acción no apoyada por ellos, ¿cómo hacen entonces ustedes para publicar estos anuncios? R. Uno de los expositores chinos contestó que 'sólo en periódicos locales se publica, nunca en periódicos nacionales y que pues bueno, también tenemos una manera para publicarlos clandestinamente'.

7. ¿Tienen algún tipo de información o datos del porqué estas personas quieren ser trabajadores del sexo? R. La señora contestó diciendo 'nunca preguntamos porqué quieren ser trabajadores sexuales, por que 'es mi cuerpo, mi decisión'.

Finalmente, hice un comentario sobre el uso del preservativo dado que se habló sobre que el uso de éste, es considerado como único medio preventivo para el contagio del VIH. Mencioné que la campaña del uso del preservativo debe ser cambiado, especialmente en trabajadores del sexo. Y cité el último párrafo de 'Esperanza', que nuestra directora legal, Becky Machina publicó días antes 'Un preservativo no va proteger a un trabajador sexual del abuso físico, de la adicción a las drogas, la estigmatización, la discriminación, y la enajenación. Por sí sólo, simplemente podrá hacer de él o ella una mercancía o un vector de la enfermedad'.

Las respuestas fueron respondidas en el mismo orden en las que yo las planteé, sin embargo, pueden notar que dos de ellas fueron ignoradas porque eran comprometedoras y cuestionaban este tipo de trabajo, que en gran parte es clandestino y que se presta para el tráfico humano y explotación.

Por supuesto, mi comentario sobre el uso del preservativo terminó por alterar a la trabajadora del sexo, diciendo como conclusión que 'el preservativo es lo único que nos protege'. En definitiva, la señora optó por omitir lo que en realidad decía en la frase y respondió de la manera que le convenía.

Como ustedes podrán haber leído, mis preguntas fueron consideradas básicas o simples, sin embargo para los expositores fueron de cierta manera difíciles de contestar. Terminada la reunión y sin más nadie que haya hecho pregunta -debido al corto tiempo en la sesión de preguntas y respuestas- la señora optó por invitarme al estante de trabajadores para el sexo para contestar el resto de mis preguntas, mofándose que le había hecho como 20 y que no le alcanzaba el tiempo para contestarlas en público. Una hora más tarde fui al estante, pero ya ella no se encontraba allí.

Sin más nada que agregar que tan sólo la gran gratitud a la Alianza Mundial de la Juventud por hacerme partícipe de esta conferencia, donde el aprendizaje que obtuve fue más del que esperaba, me despido cordialmente,

Luz Cardona Canales.

WYA Europe

*La Fundación del Español Urgente recomienda que se escriba sida en minúsculas y que no se confunda este término con la sigla VIH.

La palabra sida se formó como acrónimo de «síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida». Debido al uso, ya se ha convertido en un sustantivo común, por lo que la Fundéu aconseja que se escriba con minúsculas, y no SIDA.

Así, en ejemplos como «Los enfermos de SIDA reclaman confidencialidad y menos rechazo» o «Todos contra el SIDA este 1° de diciembre», sería más adecuado escribir «Los enfermos de sida reclaman confidencialidad y menos rechazo» y «Todos contra el sida este 1° de diciembre».

Asimismo, la Fundación del Español Urgente recuerda que no debe emplearse sida como sinónimo de VIH pues sida es el nombre de la enfermedad, y la sigla VIH (virus de inmunodeficiencia humana) designa al virus que la causa.

The new generation AIDS activists

2010-07-26T11:03:00.000-06:00

“They always say that young people are the leaders of tomorrow. But we want space there now, in order to be represented you have to have someone there to speak about your issues,” says 22 year-old Hannah Adoyo Ondiek of World Youth Alliance Kenya at the 2010 AIDS conference.

Asked about her first impressions about the conference, Hannah said “it wasn’t what I expected...All the meetings I’m attending even if it’s on faith or on what young people think - it’s about sex, sex workers, and drug users, and providing needles and condoms. I thought in the panels they didn’t have good representation [of the issues]”.

Something wrong with this picture

During the session “Is this the end of AIDS diplomacy”, the Netherlands HIV/AIDS Ambassador - Marijke Wijnroks provocatively stated that if she is the youngest person here, at age 48, there is something wrong with this picture. She asserts the needs for more young people on the podium and space for them to speak.

There is a gap

Apart from the protestors who charged the stage and left abruptly, Hannah and 25 year-old Marie-Caroline Leroux of World Youth Alliance Europe were one of the few people under 30 attending this session. When Hannah asked the panel of 6 HIV/AIDS Ambassadors “How and when [to have young people becoming leaders], no one really answered me”. She continued to say that if the youngest person is 48, they don’t know what she is going through right now. “There’s a gap, and we aren’t being represented enough as young people.”

Acces to power

Both Hannah and Marie-Caroline voiced two separate experiences when it comes to access to power. In Marie-Caroline’s situation, good governance and transparency already exist. She has direct access to leaders at the European parliament. In her words, “I won’t be an ambassador right tomorrow, because I’m too young, but it’s part of the career process”.

While Hannah’s experience is different. “We voted a young person, someone who was a former comedian [into power in her constituency]. He got beaten up, went to hospital,” and his votes were stolen and another person became the leader. So in her case, even if you get voted in, it’s not so clear whether you’ll become a leader. “Young people try to, but then they are brought down, so there’s a gap. I really don’t know how we can change it.”

A seat at the table

“I want a seat at the table, I don’t want to just photocopy” was a statement raised by another young person, Rachel Arnii of Indonesia, during the opening ceremony of the AIDS conference.

When Hannah’s was asked what her experience was more like “seat at the table or photocopy”, she replied candidly. “I guess the photocopy part, getting and carrying coffee” is part of being an intern. However, “through the World Youth Alliance, we do projects. And we go to the UN. We represent young people. We’re not just photocopy people or coffee people.”

Marie-Caroline agrees with Hannah’s experiences. She adds “ to get a real job to develop your talents and your skills, it’s really tough. Sometimes too often we’re put on photocopies.”

Show us how to fish

In Hannah’s last words she adds: “Put us at the table – YES. Young people can be responsible. Young people can change. People who take drugs don’t have to be only given needles. You can’t just give us needles. Will you give us needles forever? What’s that saying “give a man fish, he’ll come back to you. Show him how to fish... They need to show us how to fish…. How to change and give us guidance cause we need them as the older generation. Not to keep giving us fish, fish, and fish…”

Marie-Caroline jumps in, “our hope is to tell them what we need. We just know what the reality is…” So instead of giving young people just fish, maybe we can start asking them what they really want to eat.

VIH/SIDA: Una respuesta centrada en la persona

2010-07-21T12:42:00.000-06:00

Source URL: http://www.hazteoir.org/node/13727

La World Youth Alliance participa en la XVII Conferencia Internacional del Sida, con el objeto de presentar la respuesta de la organización a la epidemia. La Alianza afirma que la dignidad de la persona humana debe ser el comienzo para dar la respuesta adecuada a las necesidades de las personas que viven con la enfermedad. Así, desataca como la familia unida previene la transmisión del sida.

Redacción HO.- Miembros de Comité de la World Youth Alliance (WYA) de América Latina y la WYA Norteamérica, así como las directoras de ambas regiones, Lourdes Villanueva y Shannon Joseph, participaron como delegados en la XVII Conferencia Internacional del Sida (AIDS 2008 por sus siglas en inglés), celebrada en la Ciudad de México. El objetivo de la participación de la WYA en AIDS 2008 responde, según sus dirigentes, al deseo de presentar la respuesta de la organización a la epidemia. Así, la Alianza afirma que "la dignidad de la persona humana debe ser el comienzo para dar la respuesta adecuada a las necesidades de las personas que viven con la enfermedad. Como describe Shannon Joseph, directora para Norte América: al conformar nuestra respuesta al SIDA consideramos cómo es que de una mejor forma podemos proteger a nuestra hermana, hermano, hijo y mejor amigo de esta devastadora enfermedad".

En esta línea, la WYA afirma que para responder adecuadamente a la pandemia, antes de nada la comunidad internacional debe confrontar adecuada e inmediatamente aquellas condiciones sociales que llevan a la pobreza, así como la desnutrición, la susceptibilidad a enfermedades crónicas, el conflicto, el desempleo, el analfabetismo, la explotación sexual, la objetivación sexual de la persona, el abuso a las drogas y toda manifestación que ataque de la dignidad de la persona. Es por esta razón que esta coalición internacional de jóvenes promueve una respuesta integral que entienda las diferentes dimensiones de la persona -física, mental, emocional, espiritual y social- como la base de toda solución que quiera ser efectiva y duradera.

Sus propuestas son las siguientes:

• Educación e información sobre la naturaleza de la enfermedad, los modelos de transmisión y prevención, así como las diferentes opciones de tratamiento.

• Repensar el estilo de vida y cambiar el comportamiento, a través de la promoción de estilos de vida que respeten la dignidad propia y la de los demás -vivida de una manera más completa en un compromiso permanente basado en la fidelidad mutua.

• Tratamiento médico adecuado para la prevención, diagnóstico, asesoría y tratamiento.

• Promover condiciones para apoyar y nutrir a la familia: estructura fundamental en donde la prevención y cuidado del VIH/SIDA inician.

• Especial atención a los más vulnerables: es necesario dirigir esfuerzos para cambiar las fuerzas políticas, legales, económicas y culturales que atrapan a las personas en el detrimento de su bienestar, en donde pueden incluirse los niños abandonados, hombres y mujeres que viven en la prostitución, usuarios de drogas y encarcelados.

La propuesta de la WYA busca equidad para todos. "Todas las personas, independientemente de sus circunstancias, merecen la mejor respuesta al VIH/SIDA. Las personas con más riesgo de contraer la enfermedad necesitan ayuda adición en proporción a sus necesidades. Es necesario que la comunidad internacional invierta recursos de la mejor calidad para proteger las necesidades básicas de los moribundos, los hambrientos, las personas más pobres, explotadas y abusadas." Afirma Lourdes Villanueva, Directora para América Latina.

La familia unida previene la transmisión del sida

De acuerdo a un estudio realizado por el Fondo de Desarrollo para la Agricultura (IFAD por sus siglas en inglés), en el año 2006 un total de 150 millones de trabajadores emigrantes a nivel mundial enviaron más de 300.000 millones de dólares a sus familias que habitan en países de vías de desarrollo. La contribución económica de estos emigrantes es significativa; sin embargo, tiene un costo alto para ellos y sus familias ya que estos trabajadores están en su mayoría forzados a dejar a sus esposos o esposas e hijos en sus países por un largo periodo de tiempo.

Las políticas de migración discriminatorias que previenen a los trabajadores emigrantes de traer a sus familiares al país donde laboran es problemático. Por ejemplo, de las 89.819 mujeres que trabajan como empleadas domésticas, 3.134 han trabajado también en Singapur, donde no son protegidas por el Acta de Empleo. A los trabajadores emigrantes se les prohíbe migrar con sus familias y a las trabajadoras emigrantes se les prohíbe quedar embarazadas durante su periodo en dicho país. El derecho fundamental a la familia es completamente robado a estas trabajadores migrantes.

Como se afirma en la Declaración sobre VIH/SIDA de la World Youth Alliance: "Nosotros creemos que la familia es la estructura fundamental donde la prevención de dicha enfermedad comienza. Es por esta razón que para la WYA, esta separación forzada de los trabajadores emigrantes de sus familias ha tenido consecuencias para el desarrollo de la pandemia.

Los esposos son separados uno del otro por prolongados periodos de tiempo, esta soledad, estar fuera de casa y la depresión pueden llevarlos a involucrarse en comportamientos sexuales de alto riesgo, así como al uso de las drogas (por ejemplo, compartir jeringas contaminadas). Estas actividades tienen consecuencias trágicas para los individuos, sus familias y comunidades.

Según la WYA, es necesario y urgente modificar las políticas que separan a los trabajadores emigrantes de sus familias por un largo periodo de tiempo. Así mismo, la World Youth Alliance promueve que la comunidad internacional tome acciones para proteger el derecho de los trabajadores emigrantes de pertenecer con su familia, como componente necesario para luchar contra la transmisión del VIH/SIDA. De igual forma considera necesario reforzar una estrategia de prevención que enfatice el mantenimiento de un comportamiento y estilo de vida, basados en el compromiso permanente y la fidelidad mutua.

•La WYA es una coalición internacional de más de un millón de jóvenes que promueven la dignidad de la persona y buscan construir vínculos solidarios entre jóvenes de países desarrollados y envías de desarrollo. Reconocemos que la dignidad de la persona es el fundamento de los derechos humanos, la política y la cultura. Más información sobre la World Youth Alliance en http://www.wya.net

Fátima Villanueva, miembro de WYA Latinoamérica representa a la Sociedad Civil del Estado de Jalisco, en Pre conferencia Estatal de la Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud.

2010-07-08T11:11:00.000-06:00

En el marco de la Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud que organizan el Gobierno de México y el Sistema de Naciones Unidas, los Estados de la República Mexicana organizaron Pre conferencias preparatorias para acercar a los jóvenes a los temas de la Conferencia Mundial de Juventud, generar una reflexión sobre el papel de la juventud en su entorno donde los jóvenes son protagonistas y seleccionar un joven representante Estatal que fungirá como observador en la Reunión Global de ONG de la CMJ.

El 30 de Junio, durante la Pre conferencia Estatal en Jalisco, Fátima Villanueva González, miembro del Capítulo WYALA- Guadalajara, tuvo el honor de ser seleccionada por el Instituto Jalisciense de la Juventud para durante la ceremonia de apertura, dar un discurso a nombre de la Sociedad Civil del Estado y participar del presídium.

“Nosotros los jóvenes, estamos comprometidos en hacer realidad el reconocimiento de la dignidad de la persona lo que significa ver a la otra persona como otro yo por quien vale la pena dar la vida, ese otro que merece ser tratado con amor, solidariamente y que por tal motivo, nos hace empeñarnos en crear, realizar y trabajar profesional y organizadamente para y hacer de la realidad y el entorno de cada uno, una más justa y solidaria.”

Agregó que “participar de la Pre Conferencia Estatal de la Conferencia Mundial de Juventud es una oportunidad única en la vida” ya que se realiza en coyuntura con el Bicentenario de la Independencia y el Centenario de la Revolución Mexicana, y la mirada del mundo en los jóvenes de todas partes. En nombre de la Sociedad Civil declaró que los jóvenes presentes “en el fondo de nuestras intenciones, aspiraciones y de nuestro trabajo, vemos en cada persona a la humanidad entera, porque nuestro trabajo tiene miras de mejorar la calidad de vida y el desarrollo de esta y de las siguientes generaciones.”

Además del discurso de apertura, la joven Tapatía también moderó la mesa de trabajo sobre Pobreza y Exclusión, en dónde jóvenes del Estado expusieron sus ideas para mejorar la calidad de vida de los jóvenes en este contexto.

Fátima tuvo la oportunidad de compartir el presídium del evento con Fernando Guzmán Pérez-Peláez, Secretario General de Gobierno del Estado, Priscila Vera, Directora del Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud y Sergio Tabares, Director del Instituto Jalisciense de la Juventud.

Agradecemos al Instituto Jalisciense de la Juventud por esta oportunidad. Muchas felicidades a Fátima por este logro, así como al Instituto.

La Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud tendrá lugar en León Guanajuato del 23 al 27 de Agosto del Presente, y en la Ciudad de México del 25 al 27 del mismo. Para más información sobre la conferencia http://www.youth2010.org/. Más información sobre la Pre Conferencia del Estado de Jalisco http://www.ijj.gob.mx/ijjweb/index.php?id=229

Discurso de Fátima Villanueva, miembro el Comité Nacional de la WYA Latinoamérica y del Capitulo WYA- Guadalajara y WYA-UP, en representación de la Sociedad Civil del Estado de Jalisco en la Pre Conferencia Estatal de la Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud 2010.

30 de Junio de 2010

Estimados, Fernando Guzmán Pérez-Peláez, Secretario General de Gobierno del Estado, Priscila Vera, Directora del Instituto Mexicano de la Juventud, Sergio Tabares, Director del Instituto Jalisciense de la Juventud. Directores, voluntarios, jóvenes que con su trabajo bien hecho y entregado cada día hacen posible el desarrollo de Nuestro País y del Estado de Jalisco.

Antes de comenzar, aprovecho para agradecer la oportunidad que se le da a la World Youth Alliance para participar del evento.

Es un gran honor para mí representar el día de hoy a las Organizaciones Civiles del Estado de Jalisco, en el que es para nosotros un día para celebrar y reconocer el trabajo y las acciones juveniles sustentables y comprometidas con la causa más grande que puede tenerse. Una causa que siendo principio y fondo de nuestro trabajo lo hace tan especial.

Nosotros los jóvenes, estamos comprometidos en hacer realidad el reconocimiento de la dignidad de la persona lo que significa ver a la otra persona como otro yo por quien vale la pena dar la vida, ese otro que merece ser tratado con amor, solidariamente y que por tal motivo, nos hace empeñarnos en crear, realizar y trabajar profesional y organizadamente para y hacer de la realidad y el entorno de cada uno, una más justa y solidaria.

¿Cómo llevamos adelante esta labor titánica, crítica con raíces tan profundas en un mundo que cada día pide más rapidez, practicidad y resultados?

Primero que nada a través de nuestro compromiso efectivo en causas dedicadas a la promoción del desarrollo integral propio y de los demás, del desarrollo social y comunitario, de la promoción de los derechos humanos, sociales y políticos individuales y colectivos, comprometidos con la vivencia de la equidad de género y la complementariedad entre hombres y mujeres, la generación de oportunidades para todos, la creación de vías y proyectos para la erradicación de la pobreza y la promoción de la salud, la vida, la vivienda y el empleo digno para todos.

En definitiva, todos los jóvenes aquí presentes en el fondo de nuestras intenciones, aspiraciones y de nuestro trabajo, vemos en cada persona a la humanidad entera, porque nuestro trabajo tiene miras de mejorar la calidad de vida y el desarrollo de esta y de las siguientes generaciones.

Participar de la Pre Conferencia Estatal de la Conferencia Mundial de Juventud es una oportunidad única en la vida. En marco de las fiestas del Centenario y Bicentenario de nuestra patria, México es sede de esta Cumbre Mundial. Este es un momento especial en el cual los reflectores de todas partes del mundo mirarán a Nuestro País y a sus Jóvenes. Así mismo, coadyuvará y este es uno de mis deseos más grandes, a que intentemos con todas nuestras energías en aras de cumplir las Metas del Milenio, mirar el rostro de cada uno de los jóvenes para que en conjunto nosotros los jóvenes de la sociedad civil, gobierno y parlamentarios, reflexionemos sobre las iniciativas sociales, las políticas públicas y las legislaciones necesarias para la promoción de la vida, la dignidad, la mejora de la calidad de vida y nuestro desarrollo integral.

Como diría uno de los personajes más grandes de la Historia del Siglo veinte. Hoy estamos aquí reunidos para afirmar que en este siglo no nos prestaremos a ser instrumentos de violencia y destrucción, defenderemos la paz, a costa de nuestra propia vida si fuese necesario. No nos conformaremos con un mundo que tiene todo para desarrollarse y en el que otros seres humanos mueren de hambre, son analfabetos, sufren, están sin trabajo y se sienten solos. Los jóvenes de este siglo estamos comprometidos a defender la vida y su desarrollo terreno, este entorno que heredaremos a las siguientes generaciones. Nos esforzaremos con todas nuestras energías para ser de esta tierra, una más habitable para todos.

Esperamos que la Conferencia Mundial de la Juventud geste las condiciones que se necesitan para hacer de los ideales anteriormente mencionados una realidad global.

Estoy segura, que el resultado de los trabajo del día de hoy, serán fermento para continuar la batalla y poner en práctica proyectos sustentables que hagan efectivos los ideales y objetivos de la Conferencia en todos los niveles.

Muchas gracias.

Fátima Villanueva

Miembro del Capítulo Local WYALA- Guadalajara y UP

World Youth Alliance Latinoamérica

WYA Supports G8 Initiative

2010-06-28T15:55:00.000-06:00

World Youth Alliance welcomes Canada’s contribution to the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

(NEW YORK: June 25, 2010)

The World Youth Alliance (“WYA”) welcomes Prime Minister Harper’s announcement today that Canada will contribute $2.85 billion over 5 years to his new maternal and infant health initiative. The Muskoka Initiative, which emphasizes proper nutrition and pre-natal care, was announced in April as a primary focus of the G8 meeting taking place today and tomorrow in Ontario. It came under criticism by the US Secretary of State for not including funding for abortion.

World Youth Alliance supports the new initiative, as it will focus on preventing and treating the four main causes of maternal death: infection, hemorrhage, obstructed labor and hypertensive disorders. It will also focus on providing proper nutrition to mothers and children, which creates a continuum of care that will certainly lead to fewer maternal, newborn and child deaths. WYA applauds the Canadian government for rising above the rhetoric and debate regarding abortion and focusing on immediate and tangible actions to reduce maternal mortality.

“Harper's Maternal Health Initiative prioritizes funding for the critical factors in reducing maternal mortality - nutrition, pre-natal care, and skilled birth attendants,” states Anna Halpine, founder of the World Youth Alliance. “The money is targeted to some of the poorest women in the world, who also have the highest rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. This program recognizes the intrinsic dignity of these women and their children, and by allocating resources to ensure safe delivery, it is investing in the development of these nations. We congratulate Stephen Harper and the Canadian government for spearheading this important initiative.”

For more information, please contact Rebecca Marchinda, Director of Advocacy for the World Youth Alliance at 616.485.0919 or by emailing becky@wya.net.

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.

‘La politización de la ayuda en la Cumbre del G-8’ Opinión de la World Youth Alliance

2010-06-28T15:06:00.002-06:00

Por: Anna Halpine y Greg Pfundstein

Fuente: National Review Online

En la agenda de la cumbre del G-8 en Canadá, se está promoviendo la salud materna e infantil en las partes más pobres del mundo. Las altas tasas de mortalidad en madres e infantes en muchos países son un impedimento para la democracia y al desarrollo social, y ni que decir de la tragedia humana para estas comunidades. Compromisos de recursos de parte de los países del G-8 para abordar estos problemas deberían ser provistos y ser elogiados. ¿Por qué, entonces, la delegación de Obama está amenazando en descarrilar dichos acuerdos?

Los números son impactantes: en Sierra Leona, el 16 por ciento de todos los niños fallecen y el 28 por ciento de todos los niños mueren antes de que alcancen la edad de cinco años. En trece países en África subsahariana, más de 1.000 mujeres mueren en el parto por cada 100.000 nacimientos. En Afganistán, una de cada ocho mujeres morirá como resultado al momento de dar a luz. A todo esto, el 99 por ciento de muertes maternas por todo el mundo ocurre en países en vías de desarrollo.

Sin embargo hay buenas noticias: se puede hacer mucho y mucho se ha hecho, para derrumbar estos números. Esta primavera, The Lancet publicó un nuevo estudio demostrando un progreso significativo en la reducción de muertes maternas. El artículo informó que a nivel mundial, las estadísticas en muertes maternas están en descenso; las tasas han caído 526.300 en 1980 a 342.900 en el 2008. Las razones de la disminución de muertes maternas son muchas, incluyendo las bajas tasas de embarazo para algunos países, mayor acceso a la educación, mejoramiento en el acceso a la nutrición y al cuidado médico, y el crecimiento de expertos asistiendo alumbramientos. El aborto no se ha identificado como factor en la reducción de muertes maternas. Un estudio en esta interrogante fue financiado por la fundación Bill y Melinda Gates (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) prometiendo $1.5 mil millones más para la salud maternal, especificando que no se proporcionaría ninguna financiación para el aborto.

Globalmente, diferentes grupos y organizaciones se han unido para encontrar formas de cómo reducir muertes en madres e infantes, y de llamar la atención a este tema que en gran parte de ha descuidado. Esta coalición ha reconocido que mujeres y los niños han sido a menudo marginalizados en tener apoyo político y que las muertes de mujeres pobres no han importado lo suficiente como para llamar la atención necesaria para mitigarlos con políticas o de compromiso en cuanto a financiación. Esto ahora está cambiando, y hay una cantidad cada vez mayor de datos que nos proveen un proyecto de cómo acelerar el progreso en la lucha para reducir muertes maternas, como Egipto y otros países lo han hecho. Significativamente, la investigación más actual, del artículo The Lancet a UNDP, identifica los mismos factores claves como elementos críticos en la reducción de muerte materna e infantil. Estos factores son la piedra angular de la iniciativa del primer ministro canadiense en el G-8 para la salud materna e infantil.

Dado esto, uno podría esperar que hubiera un apoyo universal al liderazgo canadiense quienes siguen tomando estos problemas y trabajando en ellos para satisfacer estas necesidades críticas. Pero la administración de Obama está obstruyendo este consenso positivo. Hillary Clinton, cuando se le preguntó sobre el plan de Canadá G-8 a tratar la salud infantil y maternal en países en desarrollo, dijo el siguiente: “No se puede tener salud maternal sin salud reproductiva. Y la salud reproductiva incluye la contracepción y planificación familiar y acceso al aborto legal, seguro.”

Es sorprendente que Hillary Clinton haya insistido en el financiamiento para el aborto y haya arriesgado una iniciativa que pueda descarrilarse del contrapeso que puede generar compromisos sin precedentes en ambos sectores, privado y público. Es especialmente sorprendente aún, considerando que bajo recientes pruebas científicas, se esté apoyando la eficacia de varios medios directos, viables y no polémicos la disminución de la mortalidad materna e infantil.

Cuando funcionarios superiores de los E.E.U.U. cambian el tema lejos de un importante trabajo en política global y de desarrollo para avanzar en temas favorecidos por cuestiones políticas abrasadoras, da la impresión de hacer uso de los impuestos recolectados en Norteamérica para financiar a una promoción de ingeniería social, pasando por alto el debate público sobre la mejor manera de alcanzar el desarrollo por todo el mundo y de tratar las verdaderas necesidades incumplidas en países en desarrollo. ¿Hillary Clinton piensa que es más importante promover ideologías occidentales liberales que tratar las necesidades críticas de las mujeres y niños de África y Asia? ¿Acaso ella prefiere promover las ya cansadas, viejas ortodoxias eugenésicas del gran movimiento ampliamente desacreditado, aquel que pretende controlar a la población? ¿Está Hillary Clinton - y la administración de Obama – dispuesta a sostener la financiación para la salud materna e infantil debido a un compromiso dogmático a un derecho universal al aborto en demanda? ¿Qué pasa con los derechos de innumerable mujeres por todo el mundo quienes quieren traer niños al mundo de manera segura, sin arriesgar sus vidas y las vidas de sus hijos?

En gran parte de África y Asia meridional, donde está la más alta tasa de mortalidad infantil y materna, el aborto no es legal. Las mujeres y los niños de estos países merecen la ayuda de los países desarrollados para aumentar sus posibilidades supervivencia, independientemente de la postura ideológica de Hilary Clinton desea tomar con respecto al aborto. Clinton y la administración de Obama no deben arriesgar de perder la oportunidad proporcionada por el liderazgo canadiense proporcionar los recursos básicos necesarios para las mujeres y niños más vulnerables del mundo. Ella debe posicionarse con Canadá y unirse a las voces que pide al resto del G-8 para presentarse con generosidad y voluntad política de alcanzar esta noble iniciativa.

Anna Halpine es la fundadora y directora ejecutiva de la World Youth Alliance

Greg Pfundstein es el director ejecutivo de Chiaroscuro Fundation

Se le agradece la especial colaboración a National Review Online por otorgar un espacio a este artículo en su sección ‘the corner’.

Traducción realizada por Luz Cardona Canales.
Miembro WYA Latinoamérica, Intern en WYA Europa.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTZhNmI5MTlkMTdkZGJkMjk0OWU2ZGRiMTg4ODY0ZTY