13 July 2012
UN Youth Conference organizers
From 9 to 13 July, the UN Information Centre in Canberra supported a UN National Youth Conference in Melbourne where Convener Anna Carrig spoke about the importance of global citizenry.
“A better understanding of international affairs develops the perceptions of local and national issues”, she said. “Thinking of yourself as a global citizen drives the world to a better place”.
She noted that the diversity of participants, high-school students from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Tonga who discussed world issues as global citizens made the Conference a success.
The outcome was a youth declaration encompassing seven global issues to be passed to the Government and the United Nations.
UN Youth Representative Dan Ryan travelled around Australia on a listening tour to learn the concerns of young people, such as schools as community builders, health issues and indigenous rights.
His toolbox included social media, “Young people are already helping each other with one community learning from another, one school from another, and one state from another state.“
Both Carrig and Ryan agree that young people offer an honest insight into international issues.