YAB member Omnia el Omrani joined ECOSOC event on uniting adolescents during COVID-19
Global Youth Coalition Youth Advisory Board Member, Omnia el Omrani, joins global leaders and youth representatives in a side event of the ECOSOC Youth Forum called Uniting Adolescents during COVID-19 and beyond held last Tuesday, April 6.
The session highlighted the importance of taking immediate to improve adolescent health through a virtual dialogue between young people and global ministers where both groups discussed long-term priority solutions outlined in the worldwide Call to Action on Adolescent Wellbeing in the context of COVID-19 recovery.
The session was hosted by Mercy Juma, broadcast journalist at BBC Africa. She was joined by leaders like Helen Clark, former Prime Minster of New Zealand, Alejandra Acuña, President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, and more.
Global ministers raised the importance of acknowledging young people, from children to adolescents, and involving them in the decision-making process and global development efforts. UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake said that “we must involve adolescents if we are to kick start the action we need”.
During the session, global youth representatives talked about the support and type of meaningful involvement they need to effectively contribute to global development efforts. Youth representatives present included Sara Cognuck from UNICEF, Hiya Shah from the United Nations Delegate and UN Generation Equality Youth Group, and Omnia el Omrani from the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety and the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association.
Sara Cognuk said that meaningful youth involvement goes beyond listening to young people but is in making sure that their opinions and contributions are added to the methodologies that would guide development efforts.
Representative from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Federika Meijer, talked about the importance of supporting young people, especially during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained that struggles that adolescents normally face like issues around mental health have been exacerbated by the pandemic. During the session, she asked, “what does it mean for young people to put their dreams on hold?”
Hiya Shah expressed that young people had the power to start and influence change, saying that “there is always something adolescents and young people can do to start change; start from where we stand.”
During her presentation, Omnia talked about the Coalition and how it supports young people and amplifies their voices and efforts to make great and positive impacts in their communities, particularly when it comes to addressing the biggest killer of youth worldwide; road crashes.
“Being part of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety who mobilized over 400 young leaders from over 80 countries, I see how youth play a critical part in addressing the number one cause of death in children and adolescents – road crashes. ”
