Switzerland: Geneva hosts tomorrow’s change makers

A three-day global Forum on youth and ICT (information and communications technology) for development took place within Geneva?s Centre International de Conférences on the 24-26th September. More than 600 participants from youth organizations, government, the private sector, civil society and the technology community from across the world attended the Forum?s 6 plenary sessions and 28 workshops, panels and roundtables.

Selene Biffi, a young social entrepreneur and founder of Youth Action for Change, a youth led NGO aimed at empowering young people through learning , reports on the three day event ?

Forum participants adopted a manifesto, ?A Declaration to and for the Youth of the World?, stating young people?s commitment ?to eradicate poverty?, to share innovative technological tools, to aid development by promoting ?equal and unrestricted access?, and to ?leverage our familiarity with technology to improve the lives of the impoverished?.
?Everything that starts online is then applied to real life and social life in any aspect, be it Education, Health, Peace or anything else. We have a brain to solve complex issues, a hearth to feel compassion and feet upon which to stand up against injustice. Here at the Global Forum on Youth and ICTs for Development we can really show that ICTs, coupled with young people, are the key to solving urgent matters and change the world for the better?.

This is just a small part of the speech that Suzanne Mubarak, Egyptian first lady, made to kick-off the forum. Judging by the number of young people in the room it is obvious that the forum is truly theirs.

On the first day of the Forum, among the many participants who gathered in Geneva to discuss how ICTs can bring about positive and long-lasting change in communities around the world, there are many well-known politicians, UN officers, speakers. Most of all, however, there are young people.

Arriving just on time, I rush to the Exhibition room, where I share the stand with ?Gbenga Sesan, a Nigerian boy who, like me, is a founding partner of the Community of Expertise on ?Youth Social Technopreneurship?, the Youth section of the UN-GAID (the UN-established Global Alliance of ICTs and Development).

Three or four meetings and workshops take place at the same time, there are a few roundtables here and there, social programs and, above all, networking. Yes, this is the main aspect of international meetings, even at meetings targeting young people. Throughout the three days I find myself dashing off to different rooms all day long, giving presentations about Youth Action for Change, looking for support for the Youth Caucus at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and trying to keep abreast of new developments in the field of ICTs.

The Forum is only three days long, and unfortunately, due to the program, and to my great dismay, it is hard to attend all of the sessions. What I did appreciate however, was the chance to get to meet many like-minded young people. There are young people in Cameroon organising an ICTs Caravan, in Korea an organisation called KIVA sends young ICT experts to Africa to help give computer training, young disabled people from Malaysia who do not want to be left out by technology are there to make sure they are not ignored.

The forum ends too soon, but many issues have been raised and it has been a good three days. Participants criticised that there were few young speakers at the main panels, that there weren?t enough funds to cover travel expenses and that they were not given any real opportunities to showcase their work formally. Also, the existence of a digital divide was shunned by most speakers, leaving the audience incredulous!

As I waited for a taxi to get back home, I found myself talking to a man I hadn?t met before. Not knowing that the man I was talking to was in fact the Forum?s fund raiser I made no effort to disguise what I had thought of the event, but was quick to guarantee that it would be better next time! Feeling a little uneasy for having spoken so bluntly, I thanked him for his time and patience and promised to keep in touch.

Since then I sent him an email asking him for help to support delegates from developing countries travelling to take part in the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which is where I will coordinate the Youth Caucus. I wonder whether that may turn out to be the chance for a true platform of young people to get their hands dirty and speak their minds?

More info:
www.un-gaid.org