Formation of the UNAOC Youth Council

Hello everyone. This is a wonderful initiative and I believe with enough commitment and a more concrete sustainability measurements, we could easily convince the officials. What about doing a workshop for the ones who are interested to give our comments and feedback on the initial draft, get it signed and then communicate it? When would be the best time to do this kind of workshop and meeting? Lebanon Chapter here we come.

like most of the other feedback you've received so far, I really like your initiative and the discussion you've initiated within our group already! Many thanks for your great input. I also support Christian's suggestion to open the process up and have as many as possible out of our rows to contribute to the document before presenting it to UNAOC. In case we decide to start working on the proposal jointly, I'd be happy to contribute and support your initiative - and in the future maybe initiate a German country chapter. Looking forward to how the initiative will develop! Warm regards from Berlin, Hannah

Thank you for coming up with such a innovative and good suggestion. I have gone through the concept note and i must add it is very good. I therefore support the idea of forwarding it to the concern officials at the youth event. Meanwhile the suggestions put by some people should also be put into consideration before submitting the final document. Please contact me in case you need my help. Yours sincerely Edrissa Baldeh Communications and Public Relations Officer Fulbe Africa The Gambia

I second this proposal and I'm sure we can make it happen if we all compromise with this project. What steps we will take first ? See you guys soon! Cheers

I second this proposal and I'm sure we can make it happen if we all compromise with this project. To put hands to work probably a google docs would be necessary? See you guys soon! Cheers

I fully support the UNAOC Youth Council Initiative. Such body is really needed. I will do anything within my reach in Fiji to make it a success. Regards, Kaajal

Hello guys I'm very happy and excited about the youth council. I fully support the idea. Let's work together to improve the concept note and goals. Looking forward to seeing you all in 2 weeks

Excellent initiative , thank you for thinking about sustainability after the forum. I like the idea and I think it is really needed. However I have one process concern : just like it was the case with the memo idea which we asked Oana to put on UNAOC website after Brussels attack and she refused because she thought it was not participatory enough, ( if you remember Nousheen's shared her response in the Whatssap group) I feel concerned with the lack of participation of all group members in the production of the proposal and I am afraid that UNAOC might pin this amazing proposal down because of that. My suggestion since it is not yet final and from what i see so far most people seem to agree with the proposal, would it still be possible to include other people's thoughts and ideas and submit it as a group effort and maybe at the end with a list of people who contributed to the document. I believe that is the kind of process that can appeal to all members of the group and eventually to UNAOC since it shows that every step taken has been inclusive and participatory. I like Arushi's idea to present the proposal at the forum as Narratives of tomorrow. Those are my thoughts , let me know what you think and thank you again for this brilliant initiative. See you soon everyone ! First of all, thank you for taking leadership on this - as others have mentioned it is a much needed initiative. I also see potential in Bolun's ideas of connecting with existing international youth bodies. A few thoughts that come to my mind which might be useful for pursuing this further: - In the proposal, can we define the need for this Youth Council in the given ecosystems; i) at global level (in the presence of other youth bodies) and ii) at national levels (we can each write these for our countries in a given format) - Can this be included in the 'Narrative for Tomorrow' as well? Since that is already going to be considered by UNAOC as a charter of our needs and ideas. - Would the Co

Excellent initiative, thank you for thinking about sustainability after the forum. I like the idea and I think it is really needed. However I have one process concern : just like it was the case with the memo idea which we asked Oana to put on UNAOC website after Brussels attack and she refused because she thought it was not participatory enough, ( if you remember Nousheen's shared her response in the Whatssap group) I am afraid that most people in the group may not agree with this brilliant initiative because it comes from just two people Michael and Emmanuel rather than being the outcome of a participatory group process. And if that is the case , I find it hard for UNAOC to endorse it. My suggestion would be to remove authors and make it a group effort and maybe at the end put a list of people who contributed to the document. In this way you are opening up space for other people's ideas and building consensus on what we want the post forum to look like. I believe that is the kind of process that can appeal to other members of the group and eventually to UNAOC to show that every step taken has been inclusive and participatory. This document can be a starting point of that conversation with everyone involved and if we start working on it now maybe by next week we could come up with a draft to propose at the forum. Those are my thoughts , let me know what you think and thanks for this brilliant initiative. Christian

Thanks for the great initiative, I read through the proposal and it looks exciting! I know it is a bit challenging, but I am still totally supporting this idea of a UNAOC youth council. I believe such a network has the potential of empowering youth in a wider range with a larger impact. I am definitely a part of it and going to offer my full efforts. Besides, I think that it will be also important to design our core activities, including the forum you mention, if possible. I think it will also help if there are more flagship activities, that can be scalable and have real impacts. I also believe it is important to connect with some of the existing international youth body, such as the Youth Gate of the United Nations, SDSN Youth, Restless Development, UN MGCY and other bodies (UNAOC) for sure; at the same time connect more youth organizations in different countries, such as YELI in Burundi. We can discuss more details at the forum and by emails, but here just propose some general ideas. Again thanks for the great proposal and let me know if I can be of any help! Best regards

I have read the document and it is wonderful. Many youth are gullible to violent extremism because they don't have knowledge, and majority of them from developing countries are too poor to reject any offer that may make them join outlawed sects. It is therefore important to stress on 'Youth Empowerment'. This will be done educationally: youth who have dropped out of school due to financial constraint can be assisted to join vocational centers, to learn carpentry, masonry, hair dressing to name but a few. They shall also be enlightened about current issues so that they don't fall into the traps of organized criminal gangs. Each country should have at least one major resource centre, where youth can get knowledge. Thank you in advance.

Hello all, and bravo Emmanuel and Michael for coming up with this road-map, which I believe is important for sustainability of the work. The proposals for it to be included as Narratives of tomorrow and linking up with other organisations are also most welcomed on my behalf. Meeting you soon. Kind regards.

Dear all, According to me, the proposed Draft Concept Note is well defined and clearly stating what the initiative would be striving for (btw, you must have great digital skills). I also support this idea in the frames of Narratives of Tomorrow and let's see if / how can it be realized from the perspective of UNAOC Charter. It would be also relevant to see what concrete actions and activities can be done at national/ regional / global levels as to foster the impact of those proposals. There is also a large pool of potential partners to realize those actions and activities as well, like the Global Shape-rs mentioned above, for instance. Though many of us can involve on voluntarily basis in their countries, a serious topic for the sustainability issue would be the financial part (and the logistical one), moreover since a General Assembly is envisaged to take place early. So Google Doc would be the way to exchange and add to this draft Concept Note, right? Thank you.

Dear Emmanuel and Michael, thanks for the amazing proposal. It sounds really exicting and it is certainly a necessary initiative that would help us to work coordinately after the Forum. Maybe we can inspire ourselves in the model of this community: https://www.globalshapers.org/ They are also organized in chapters, proposing many local and jointly actions. I also call the attention for the points brought by Christian. I completly agree about the importance of the material to be as participatory as possible. Looking forward for the next steps. Best, Camila

Hello all, thanks for this great initiative. I am ready to put all my efforts to make it come true because it is really needed as it will empower youth to respect their differences, cultures and even know how to prevent conflicts, enhance social inclusion and mutual understanding. I second Arushi's idea of presenting the proposal at the forum as Narratives of tomorrow. Best regards,

Emmanuel WAKANA