The Netherlands: Maayke Aimée Damen, UN Youth Delegate

Sixty five percent of the people on this planet are young people, aged between 15 and 24. According to the United Nation?s group of Youth Delegates at the Commission on sustainable development, the fact that there are 1.6 billion young people in the world today makes them the largest group of stakeholders when it comes to making decisions about the future of planet Earth.

Maayke Aimée Damen, 22, is youth delegate for the Netherlands at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Born in Curacao she moved to the Netherlands at the age of two and currently studies Cultural anthropology and Developmental studies with a minor in Political science at Leiden University. She will graduate with a BA in 2009 once she completes her thesis on sustainable development and has recently moved to Amsterdam where she works for Maurits Groen Environment & Communication, a Dutch consultancy firm. Fresh from the UN?s CSD in New York, in May, Vita Europe talked to her about what it means to be Youth Delegate and the challenges that young activists have to face.

Why is youth participation crucial to the success of sustainable development?
Youth are the largest group of stakeholders when it comes to sustainable development. Young people are the ones that have to deal with the decisions that are being made today, and most of the long term benefits or burdens will be felt in the decades to come, when the current decision makers won?t be around anymore to see the effects of their actions. But today?s young people will.

Youth make up 65 % of the population in developing countries, which makes them the largest stakeholders in short-term sustainable development policies. Young people?s interests and needs are different to those of other groups. For example, current development policies often focus on adults, so policy implementation often fails because the strategy does not take into account who the real beneficiaries of the project are. More over, sustainable development depends on coherence, communication and compliance. It is especially young people who have the responsibility to make changes as it is their future that is being decided. It is they, alongside the next generation of scientists, educators, leaders and policymakers, who can change paradigms.

Can you pinpoint the moment when you first became a youth activist?
I have always been interested in social issues and my interest has grown and matured with me. But I think I was 10 when I first became truly involved. Today I actively participate in several student organizations like CoolClimate, an initiative launched by the Dutch Green Party and, of course, the Dutch National Youth Council.

What does being a youth leader mean to you?
My area of interest is "sustainability" and especially the socio-cultural aspects of this broad concept. I have been given the opportunity to participate in the UN?s CSD meetings as an official representative within the Dutch Delegation. Since being given this opportunity I also have the responsibility of speaking at the UN on behalf of Dutch youth as well as to Dutch youth about what goes on at the UN and why these meetings are so important. I also try to inspire them to become active themselves in the fight against poverty and climate change and show them how they can lead sustainable lifestyles and become sustainable producers and consumers. Becoming sustainable will probably be the most important challenge in future decades. But like Gandhi said: ?Be the change you want to see in this world?!

The Youth Caucus represents the interests of young civil society to the UN?s CSD. What does the Youth Caucus mean to you and what practical impacts will it have?
The Youth Caucus can provide innovative and fresh solutions by using out-of-the-box thinking. Youth aren't affiliated with governments or companies and they aren't restricted by political schemes or economic interests. Their honest and clear speeches are often followed by applause.

What did you learn from this year?s Youth Caucus?
This year our minister (who will chair the 17th CSD) read out a statement that I took part in writing about the importance of youth participation during UN CSD. The statement called upon every county to include a Youth Delegate in their national delegations. Official Youth Delegates are important to the Youth Caucus and vice versa. Frequent meetings between the Youth Caucus and the Youth Delegates make sure that focal points are being heard and written down in the chair?s summary.

Where do you expect to be in 5 years time?
Living abroad and actively involved in creating and maintaining sustainable lifestyles, policies and economies all around the globe.

More info
www.un.org/esa
www.youthcaucus.net