Seychelles’ participation at the UN Youth Assembly 2017 ‘A stimulus towards becoming more socially-conscious individuals’ |05 September 2017
Over the period of August 5, 2017 to August 16, 2017, delegates from across the world experienced an enriching spectacle which encompassed Social Ventures for Sustainable Development (SVSD), Youth Assembly at the United Nations and cross-sectoral implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Seychelles was represented by eight delegates -- Anastasia Pantazopoulou, Victoria Gao, Bhavini Raghvani, Curtis Alvis, Sanjna Shah, Kelly Mothe, Annarose Clarisse and Raghavi Naidu.
Last year only Annarose Clarisse attended the conference as the first Seychellois participant, after which she founded an NGO (UN Youth Seychelles of which she is the current President) to contribute towards the sustainable development goals and ensure Seychellois youth have access to the various privileged opportunities around the United Nations, develop their knowledge on various issues affecting the world and provide solutions for it.
This in turn will have an effect and how we seek for solutions and advocate on issues present in Seychelles.
One of the successes of UN Youth Seychelles, an NGO that has existed for eight months now, was to gather eight delegates to represent Seychelles at this year’s UN Youth Assembly. This was possible through various support, sponsors as well as self-funding.
The first part of the package, SVSD, was held in Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey which taught the delegates vital skills in building and developing a social venture.
During the orientation, we understood the difference between corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship, merits of conducting a profit or non-profit organisation in addition to looking at various case studies such as Grameen Bank.
Prior to the programme, groups of delegates identified a social venture project which would tackle a pressing social need.
Upon meeting our peer mentors on the first day of the four-day programme, we started compiling our group presentation which was to be delivered on the final day.
Over the course of pitching our presentation to our peers and judges, we navigated the strengths of constructing a viable social venture from identifying the social need, proposing a unique and creative solution, identifying resources, developing a project plan and measuring the impact of the venture.
Given the various social needs plaguing our society, these newly augmented skills will be instrumental for our youth delegates to implement social ventures locally.
The Youth Assembly at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York was the penultimate section of the package.
Delegates were briefed on the pillars of the UN namely peace & security, human rights and development & humanitarian aid.
In conjunction, a tour of the Trusteeship Council Chamber and Economic and Social Council allowed the delegates to understand the formalities of decision-making.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN where we were privy to their responsibilities and duties.
The opening ceremony of the Youth Assembly took place in the grandiose General Assembly hall which was graced by the President of the 71st General Assembly, permanent representatives of Kenya, Portugal and Sri Lanka.
The following two days included various workshops and panels where social, economic and environmental aspects were deliberated by experts and youth delegates.
Overall, we were exposed to issues that are often not witnessed in our societies and observed innovative solutions to counteract the multitude of social ills.
As delegates, we understood the power of networking and the importance of constantly evolving our strategies to tackle issues in a viable and effective manner.
The delegates and members of UN Youth Seychelles visited the UN Permanent mission to Seychelles and met Ambassador Ronny Jumeau and deputy Ambassador Beryl Samson to discuss future projects and sustainability in Seychelles.
The final leg of the package in Washington D.C. entailed visits to international organisations dedicated towards the cross-sectoral implementation of SDGs.
Delegates had the opportunity to visit United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), Sustainable D.C., World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
At each venue, delegates were offered an insight into the functions of the institution.
Thus, this experience enabled delegates to gather experience from local and global institutions by communicating with experts from different sectors.
Furthermore, it was an informative avenue to learn about the local and global implementation of SDGs which could provide inspiration for future projects.
Considering Seychelles has been represented only twice out of the 20 sessions of the Youth Assembly, this experience placed our nation on the global map for our interpersonal skills, innovative ideas and our participation towards accomplishing SDGs.
Continued representation in the Assembly will showcase our progress as a nation and highlight our contributions as global youth.
For our delegates, this event proved to be a stimulus towards becoming more socially-conscious individuals where we hope to inspire the youth of Seychelles to do the same.
Ultimately, each of the eight delegates are now equipped with social and entrepreneurial skills while the exemplary networking opportunities will greatly benefit Seychelles through dialogue, mentorship and greater capacity to enact SDGs.
For youth who wish to take part in such conference in the future and would like to know more information you can email on unyouthsey@gmail.com, Call/SMS on 2503228 or message us on Facebook/
