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Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary
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2. Background
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A. UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) B. Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction C. 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk reduction
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3. Children and Youth Participants at GPDRR
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4. Children and Youth Activities at GPDRR
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A. B. C. D.
GPDRR Youth Forum Formal Engagement with GPDRR Sessions Other GPDRR Activities Formal Meetings
5. Outcomes A. B. C. D. E. F.
Seeds for a Safer Tomorrow Toolkit DRR Edition – Youth Science-Policy Interface Publication GPDRR Policy Brief Youth Actions in DRR Publication Youth Engagement Platform Formal Conference Outcomes
6. Visibility A. Activities Prior to GPDRR B. Social Media During GPDRR
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7. Financial Summary
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8. Next Steps
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9. Contact
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1. Executive Summary The Fifth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) was hosted by UNISDR and the Government of Mexico from 22-26 May 2017. This forum represented a critical opportunity for Member States, UN Agencies, Major Groups and other stakeholders to gather and identify critical elements of the Sendai Framework which require attention, action and guidance to ensure its priorities and global targets are met. In addition, children and youth were particularly active at GPDRR, with their engagement facilitated through the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) and its members, including the Children in a Changing Climate Coalition (CCC). The UN MGCY participants included over 70 youth from 40 countries, representing a diverse range of youth-led and youth-serving organisations, and child-focused agencies. Apart from participating in formal segments of the GPDRR programme as a session chair, speaker to the Leader’s Forum, organiser of the Children and Youth Preparatory Meeting and delivery of the youth statement, the constituency were active in delivering session interventions, running a Market Place booth and organising a range of other events including the one-day GPDRR Youth Forum, a side event, two ignite stages and a speed networking event. Overall, the priorities and perspectives of youth were heard throughout the Conference, demonstrating to all the commitment and impact which young people are contributing to the DRR field. Moving beyond GPDRR, the UN MGCY looks forward to the formalisation of institutional youth engagement in the Sendai Framework process through the Youth Engagement Platform (YEP) which was launched at the Ignite Stage in collaboration with UNISDR, and to participating in the monitoring and review of SDG #11 at the 2018 High-Level Political Forum. The UN MGCY also looks forward to the next GPDRR which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from 13-17 May 2019.
2. Background
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A.
UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY)
The UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) is the official space for children and youth to contribute to certain intergovernmental and policy processes at the United Nations. It is a mandated space by Agenda 21 and a number of UN General Assembly Resolutions, as well as ad hoc agreements with UN bodies and conferences. The UN MGCY is an open constituency, space and a platform for collaboration among youth-led organizations, youthserving organizations, child focused agencies, and individual young people. It is a self-organized space with a democratic structure, where all members elect facilitators and coordinators and everyone can contribute. The UN MGCY DRR Working Group is the official space for the participation of children and youth in the Sendai Framework process.
B.
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction saw the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) as the global blueprint for reducing disaster risks and managing multi-hazards at all levels within and across different sectors. UN Member States have already started implementing the Sendai Framework and have a first target date of 2020 to increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies and plans aligned with the new Framework. Significant efforts are particularly required to address future risks, and the systematically growing global economic losses from disasters, so as to build resilience in a more effective and efficient way. Elements of what needs to be done to reduce disaster risk and achieve resilience are outlined in the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework. The sharing of practical experience and science-based research will be important to guide the Framework’s implementation.
C.
2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
The 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) - Fifth Session (22-26 May 2017, CancĂşn Mexico), represented an opportunity to identify critical elements and aspects of the Sendai Framework that require urgent attention, action and guidance in order to meet its priorities and global targets. Particular attention was given to create the enabling mechanisms that will build the foundations to support the achievement of the 2020 targets of the Sendai Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as those of the New Urban Agenda and the
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UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) up to 2030. The outcome documents from the 2017 GPDRR included the Chair’s Summary and the Cancun High-Level Communiqué.
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3. Children and Youth Participants at GPDRR
The UN MGCY participants featured over 70 local and international youth and representatives of youth-led organisations. The participation of some local children was also facilitated on certain days by Save the Children and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The UN MGCY participants represented the following countries: Canada, United States of America, Mexico, Haiti, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Gambia, Mauritania, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, United Kingdom, Sweden, Ukraine, Romania, Turkey, Palestine, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand. The UN MGCY participants and their work was coordinated by the UN MGCY GPDRR Organising Committee, which was assembled in Spring 2017 to facilitate the planning, preparation and groundwork to facilitate robust youth participation within all formal and informal avenues at GPDRR. The Organising Committee was Co-Chaired by Sharon Lo (Youth Empact, Hong Kong) and Imra Hodzic (Water Youth Network, Bosnia and Herzegovina).
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4. Children and Youth Activities at GPDRR A.
GPDRR Youth Forum
On 21st May 2017, the UN MGCY, in conjunction with a range of other youth organisations, held the GPDRR Youth Forum at Anáhuac University in Cancún, Mexico. Comprising a range of interactive sessions, the one-day forum provided a critical opportunity for children, youth and other stakeholders to meet, network and build their capacity regarding disaster risk reduction (DRR) and the implementation of the Sendai Framework. Over 50 youth participated, including 30 local and 20 international representatives. After an introductory refresher session recapping the key principles of DRR and the Sendai Framework, the group split into parallel sessions on advocacy and flood risk management. This was followed by English and Spanish youth action showcases, which provided a platform for youth to showcase projects and initiatives they were facilitating in their home communities. After lunch, parallel sessions continued with sessions on leveraging science and technology, using social media for DRR, capacity building for educating communities about the Sendai Framework, and an interactive session on minimising health outcomes during disasters. The whole day was considered successful due to all active participants and motivation to act after the forum. Over 70 people joined the Closing Ceremony, including senior representatives from UN Agencies, international NGOs, Anáhuac University and more. The speakers - from the university, UNFPA, local youth and UN MGCY -
highlighted the importance of youth in shaping the implementation of the Sendai Framework and developing innovative DR initiatives. This was followed by a Networking Reception, which enabled forum participants and guests to socialise, mingle and continue the exchange of ideas which had taken place throughout the day.
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B. Formal Engagement with GPDRR Sessions i. GPDRR Children and Youth Preparatory Meeting On 22 May 2017, the UN MGCY hosted a strategy meeting as part of the official Preparatory Meetings held before the GPDRR started. This two-hour session provided a platform to bring together members of the children and youth constituency who were participating in GPDRR, and to consolidate the strategy for their effective participation in the forum so that the constituency’s core objectives (visibility and advocacy) were achieved. Participants were briefed on the various GPDRR activities coordinated by the major group, and arrangements were finalised to coordinate note taking, support at the various events, the booth timetable and more. Participants were also invited to brainstorm their ideas regarding how to strengthen our advocacy strategy, and engagement with the event through social media. Overall, this provided an important meeting to unite the children and youth constituency, and prepare them effectively for engagement in the GPDRR.
ii. Youth Representatives in the Leaders Forum The UN MGCY was one of two stakeholder groups invited to attend the leaders forum. The Leaders Forum featured world leaders, including Heads of State, Heads of Governments, senior ministers, CEOs, UN Executive Heads and community leaders, and discussed key strategies to address the growing economic losses from disasters. It was co-chaired by the President of Mexico and the UN Secretary-General, and focused on ‘Resilient Public and Private Critical Infrastructure and Housing’. The UN MGCY gave a statement during the forum about the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration, and the need to keep to keep countries and stakeholders accountable for their resilience work. In addition, the political commitment requiring a shift from response to preparedness also required a cultural shift too. We also mentioned the need for community-based assessments, a point that was later supported during the statement from representative of the private sector. Other points included: ● Importance of coherence in policies at all levels, as well as in the implementation; ● Need to shift from a sectoral to system-based management; ● Importance of investment in building back better; ● DRR action plans and investments should be responsive to changing environments and increasing pressures; ● Infrastructure planning should be subject to life cycle assessment in regards to its short and long term social and environmental impacts, making it people centered and planet sensitive; and ● National infrastructure development should involve community-based assessments and decision making aimed at addressing local needs across spatial contexts.
iii. Youth Co-Chair of the DRR Governance Working Session Robert Sakic Trogrlic, Focal Point for the UN MGCY SPI Young Scientists Platform for Disaster Reduction, served as Co-Chair for the working session on Disaster Risk Reduction Governance, which took place on 25 May 2017. The other Co-Chair was H.E. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Disaster Management of Sri Lanka. Some of the main outcomes of the session were as follows:
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Disaster risk governance at the national, regional and global level is of great importance for an effective and efficient management of disaster risk. Countries have to approach governance as a process that is inclusive of all sectors (national governments, local governments, civil society) and the whole of society to be successful; To be effective, governance mechanisms should provide coordination within and across sectors, as well as include participation of relevant stakeholders, as essential elements for effective prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation; Experiences revealed that governance accountability is necessary in order to ensure that the public are safe and aware of risks, and to prevent and reduce disaster risks. If Governance accountability mechanisms are not clearly defined and established at all levels (national, sectoral and local) efforts for achieving the Sendai Framework targets will be hampered; Accountability for disaster risk management is not only related to the role and actions of governments, but also for all other actors including the science and technology communities, private sector, civil
society and more; There has been great advances in governance mechanisms at the global and national levels. New disaster risk comprehensive legislative frameworks, strategies and plans have thrived in recent years. However, governance mechanisms should be advanced at a local level - where disasters are having impacting the most vulnerable populations, and where governance mechanisms at this level has lagged behind; As an example of tools to promote accountability, the session shared the first edition of the guide “Words into Action”, aiming to serve countries with practical guidance for the implementation of the Sendai Framework; Analysis of positive or negative impacts of disaster risk governance can guide and direct efforts to improve the governance system; The media was highlighted of play a critical role in disaster risk governance: 1) By being accountability mechanism by informing the public of government commitments, and by monitoring and reporting on
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government actions; and 2) By serving as an education and capacity development mechanism by providing risk and risk management information to the general public. This potential not yet fully utilised, and investment is required to develop media capacity, and to shift their positions from being reactive to be proactive in disseminating information about disaster risk and DRR; and The media can also play a role in bringing various stakeholder together and breaking sectoral silos.
iv. Youth Discussant in the Science and Technology Working Session On 25 May 2017, Gabriela G. Nobre - UN MGCY representative - delivered a 3 minutes statement from the floor at the Science and Technology working session. The statement described past UN MGCY activities such as the creation of the Young Scientist Platform for DRR and a Young Scientist Roadmap in 2016. The launch of the crowd-sourced, youth-led, and peer-reviewed DRR Edition of the UN MGCY’s Youth SciencePolicy Interface Publication was also announced, featuring more than 25 policy briefs. The UN MGCY’s commitments to continue working in this arena were also highlighted: including a commitment to devising a revised work plan for the Young Scientist Roadmap with enhanced objectives and goals for the period of 2017-2019, aligned with priorities identified by UNISDR and the S&T community. These activities include the following: 1. Enhancing the meaningful institutional engagement of youth within the S&T and science-policy architecture of the UNISDR, including the STAG; 2. Expanding the Young Scientist Platform through awareness raising and capacity building amongst young scientists in DRR through interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogues, activities, and events; 3. Facilitating the generation and sharing of knowledge, from both formal and traditional sources, in the form of policy briefs, case studies, peer-reviewed publications, and other outputs that can be effectively communicated and contribute to the dialogue and work of the STAG. This also includes horizon-scanning of emerging technologies, participatory youth-led assessments, and technology foresight to ensure people-centered, planet-sensitive and context conscious application of S&T; and 4. Mapping of youth initiatives across the four priority areas of action, including best practices and tracking impact along the indicators of the SFDRR and other intergovernmental agendas such as the SDGs. Following the working session, an official statement was released by the Science and Technology Stakeholder Group, incorporating the UN MGCY’s recommendations and highlighting the commitment made. The UN MGCY statement may be viewed here.
v. Children and Youth Statement Over the course of GPDRR, 98 official participants and 106 country representatives presented official statements highlighting their various positions. On 26 May 2017, Nhilce Nahomi Esquivel Gómez - a Mexican youth - delivered the statement on behalf of the UN MGCY. The statement highlighted the need to recognise children and youth as important actors within DRR and the implementation of the Sendai Framework. The key points included:
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The importance of child-friendly as well as age and gender-sensitive information, which needs to be reflected in the policies, frameworks and all kind of resources provided towards the implementation of practices regarding DRR; The actions that youth are taking in order to be accounted as agents of change and prove that young professionals can also contribute with their expertise and authentic ideas towards good solutions. Regarding this point, the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action, the Young Scientist Roadmap and the Youth Engagement Platform (YEP) were stressed as the latest results of the collective actions that the UN MGCY has taken to contribute to the Sendai Framework’s implementation; and The commitment of children and youth on taking actions and responsibilities towards the successful implementation of the Sendai Framework.
The statement represents the means by which the UN MGCY will bring out the actions and ideas that may boost our participation in UN-related actions, and harness the potential of children and youth worldwide as a force of change within the DRR arena. The full statement may be viewed at http://www.unisdr.org/files/globalplatform/unmgcystatementgpdrr.pdf.
vi. Youth Interventions in Formal Programme Segments As part of the advocacy training, youth were also encouraged to deliver interventions within formal GPDRR programme segments during the Q&A sessions. With participants already taking notes in every session of the conference, children and youth attempted to ask questions in all sessions, but were not given the opportunity to in several instances. Questions were asked in the following segments: ● Working Session: Sendai Framework Monitor Consultation ● Working Session: Science & Technology
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Working Session: Local Authorities Working Session: Land Use & Spatial Planning
C. Other GPDRR Activities i. Side Event On 26 May 2017, the UN MGCY and Children in a Changing Climate Coalition (CCC) jointly organised a side event entitled ‘Strengthening resilience for and with young people – showcasing what works in advancing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030)’. The event featured representatives from UNICEF, the Indonesian Government, UN MGCY, Plan International and World Vision, and showcased examples of the work which children, youth, youth organisations and child-focused agencies were doing around the world to advance the Sendai Framework. Sandra Delali Kemeh, the Africa Regional Focal Point for the UN MGCY DRR working group shared the youth perspective, stressing the need for Member States to meaningfully engage with stakeholders, especially youth, particularly since superficial engagement had limited impact. She highlighted how youth from all over the world were already establishing DRR initiatives and were already agents of change in their communities to reduce disaster risk and develop preparedness. What was therefore needed was support to scale up such initiatives to have broader impact, and to link relevant parties together for meaningful collaboration. The Youth Engagement Platform (YEP) was also identified as coming at the right time to institutionalise youth engagement with UNISDR.
Other key points from the side event included the following: ● In order to reach a resilient society, it is important to engage children and youth at all levels, particularly since they account for approximately half of the global population and have a fresh and different perspective on DRR; ● In order to create a resilient society for all, it is important to include participatory disaster risk assessment with children/adolescents/youth; ● National and local DRR policies should take into consideration children and youth’s special needs in different sectors (e.g. in education, protection, social inclusion, nutrition and health);
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It is important to strengthen the capacities and reduce vulnerability to disasters The difference between capacity building and sharing information was identified, with capacity building requiring long term investments and attention; and In order to reach a resilient society one need to reduce the vulnerability of the community. This requires a shift from a sectoral to systems-based management, and to address underlying risk factors such as violence and inequity.
ii. Ignite Stage: Launching the Youth Engagement Platform On 25 May 2017, the UN MGCY hosted an Ignite Stage session entitled “Youth as Today’s DRR Leaders: Launching the UNISDR Youth Engagement Platform”. The Youth Engagement Platform (YEP) is the primary mechanism co-developed by UNISDR and the UN MGCY to mobilise youth globally to meaningfully contribute to the SFDRR’s 4 areas, and to institutionalise their participation.
The SFDRR advocates an inclusive approach, with all stakeholders taking shared responsibility to build resilient societies. Youth specifically are highlighted as agents of change who have unique energy, skills and talents to contribute to DRR design, policy, implementation and evaluation. The YEP is the designated institutional space for youth in the SFDRR. It is built from the current work of the UN MGCY and will provide a platform for young people to contribute their unique capacities in disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery to DRR. Imra Hodzic (Co-Chair of the UN MGCY GPDRR Organising Committee) presented an overview of YEP’s programme streams and called for stakeholders to develop intergenerational partnerships to empower youth in their DRR work. Meanwhile, Ricardo Mena (Head of UNISDR Regional Office for The Americas) and Natalia Kanem (Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNFPA) commented on the importance of the YEP and the significance of youth involvement in DRR. The session was moderated by Crystal Ma. The video recording of the session may be viewed here.
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iii. Ignite Stage: Young Professionals Programme On 24 May 2017, the Cities 2030 Young Professionals Programme (YPP) was introduced at another Ignite Stage session. YPP is an initiative developed by the UN MGCY in partnership with Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) and will create opportunities to channel young talents toward engagement in local governments in order to strengthen local capacity building. Laura Kavanaugh, the Resilient Cities Program Manager, spoke on behalf of ICLEI and discussed the vacancy she observed for young professionals. Laura shared that members of ICLEI often express the need to make careers in local government more attractive to young people, backed by a hope to convey to young people that change happens at the local level. Young people typically represent a progressive, innovative sector of society with fresh ideas and mindfulness of sustainable development principles and are uniquely positioned to connect to communities, academia (e.g. universities), professionals, and young people across sectors and cities – these are all invaluable attributes for putting the “leave no one behind” NUA principles into action. Meanwhile, Hirotaka Koike, Global Focal Point of the UN MGCY Habitat III working group, highlighted the unique nature of the NUA which is designed to be “actionable”, meaning that it is local and subnational governments that will play the central role in the NUA’s implementation. Very often, cities and local authorities suffer from a lack of fresh, creative, and dynamic young professionals and politicians who have the credentials to bring new ideas to the art of governance. Part of this stems from the fact that working in the context of local government lacks a certain flair. This will be ameliorated by channeling young talent, the best and brightest, towards careers in local governance, to reinvigorate local authorities and breathe new life into their work as part of this era of sustainable urban development. The YPP aims to benefit from the experience of ICLEI’s Future City Leaders Programme implemented in 2010-2012. The video recording of the session may be viewed here.
iv. Intergenerational Speed Networking On 24 May 2017, the UN MGCY organised a speed networking session which enabled young scientists and members of the wider DRR community to meet, exchange ideas about their work, and to generate intergenerational partnerships toward the implementation of the Sendai Framework. The event brought together 25-30 young people, experts, leaders and academics. Individuals moved seats every 5 minutes, and were given topics for discussion. Overall, participants stated their enjoyment of the session, although they expressed a desire for more time to be allocated for the different sessions. This networking session was moderated by Esther Muiruri, the Deputy Organising Partner of the UN MGCY World Humanitarian Summit working group.
v. Market Place Booth The GPDRR Market Place took place from 24 to 26 May 2017 and provided a critical platform for various organisations to showcase their work. The Children and Youth Booth was co-organised by the UN MGCY and CCC and offered a holistic perspective of how young people were engaging with DRR initiatives across
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the world. Beyond outreach and raising awareness about the UN MGCY and CCC’s work in empowering children and youth to contribute toward the Sendai Framework, the booth incorporated innovative initiatives such as virtual glasses from the perspective of a child, short films about children and youth in DRR, and intergenerational dialogues featuring Ray Kancharla with Save the Children and Dr. Judy Kuriansky of Columbia University, who showcased their activities involving children who have experienced in disasters. Visitors of the booth were also introduced to various UN MGCY outputs developed for the GPDRR, including the GPDRR Policy Brief, Seeds for a Safer Tomorrow Toolkit and DRR edition of the UN MGCY’s Youth Science-Policy Interface Publication.
D. Formal Meetings i.
Stakeholder Group Meeting with the UN Deputy Secretary-General The UN Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), Amina J. Mohammed, invited all stakeholder groups to an informal meeting to discuss good practices and challenges of stakeholder engagement within the UN system, with particular reference to the 2030 Agenda as well as within DRR. In addition to representatives of stakeholder groups, the DSG also invited three individuals. The UN MGCY was represented by Moa Herrgard, Deputy Organising Partner of the UN MGCY DRR working group, who consulted the youth participants attending GPDRR (over 70 local and international youth), as well as CCC. The intervention consisted of the following areas: ● Building coherence and strengthening links between stakeholder engagement across different levels - global, regional, and national; ● Building coherence and strengthening links between stakeholder engagement across different international frameworks and UN processes, at an international and regional level; ● Support the dialogue between Member States and stakeholder groups, with the purpose to engage children and youth at a national level in the implementation, follow up and review, including national level risk assessment/analysis in support of government development plans. The UN system can be particularly useful in providing an interface between established constituencies at the global level (i.e. MGoS) with counterparts at national levels; ● Develop guides on stakeholder engagement for Member States, with particular focus on the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) mechanism. The UN MGCY, OSGEY, UNDP, youth councils,
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and others are developing a toolkit for governments to more effectively engage youth in VRNs, which will be launched at the High-Level Political Forum. Promote citizen-led and participatory-based assessments and reporting of progress. Make available avenues for citizen reporting; Expand scope of engagement beyond implementation to include monitoring, follow up and review; and Stakeholder engagement should be the self-assembled rights-holder based engagement of constituencies, building upon the work initiated in 1992 to enhance spaces for MGoS.
Due to insufficient time management of the Chair, four of the stakeholder groups did not have time to deliver their positions, despite the floor being given to the individuals attending the meeting.
ii. Children and Youth Meeting with Former SRSG for Disaster Risk Reduction The UN MGCY participants met with Margareta Wahlström, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction. During this meeting, Ms Wahlström shared about her time as the Head of UNISDR and overseeing the process leading up to the Sendai Framework’s adoption. She also shared about her current work as the President of the Swedish Red Cross, and discussed the humanitarian/disaster nexus. The majority of this informal session enabled local and international youth to ask Ms Wahlström diverse questions, relating to her technical experience, contemporary humanitarian issues, and her advice for young DRR advocates looking to further engage with this field. Overall, this meeting was a meaningful forum which enabled youth to gain from Ms Wahlström’s wisdom, experience and insight.
iii. Children and Youth Meeting with UNISDR Africa The UN MGCY participants met with Julius Kabubi, representative of the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa on 26 May 2017. Mr Kabubi expressed delight about how active children and youth have become in DRR and stressed the willingness of UNISDR - especially the African office - to work with the youth. He also touched on the mandate of UNISDR and highlighted how the Regional Office for Africa had defined their regional strategy to engage youth and was working with them to realise follow up actions. The UN MGCY affirmed their readiness to provide support for this work where needed. Many youths actively engaged with the discussions, asking many questions about Mr Kabubi’s experiences of working within the UN system.
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iv. Children and Youth Meeting with Canada On 26 May 2017, an informal roundtable discussion was organised with Canada’s Head of Delegation, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Development Celina Caesar-Chavannes. A group of 7 youth representing Canada, Brazil, Philippines, Hong Kong, Sweden and Mexico, and 3 Mexican children participated in the roundtable. After a round of introductions, participants were invited to share about the various DRR activities they had been undertaking in their communities across the world. In particular, Victor Marchezini from Brazil shared about this sustainable and socially inclusive DRR community-based activities being held to build resilience of vulnerable population groups in his country. The Mexican children, representing the Mexican Red Cross, also highlighted the importance of prevention, effective response and why they were part of this emergency first aid group.
v. Children and Youth Meeting with USA UNISDR facilitated an encounter with several members of the US delegation, including with Federal Emergency Management Agency, and civil society groups such as the Nature Conservancy to talk about ecosystem based DRR strategies. This led to a follow-up meeting between UN MGCY representatives with the larger US delegation, including members from NASA, FEMA, USAID, Medical Reserve Corps, and others to discuss enhanced participation in target E of the SFDRR, establishing national and sub-national plans for disaster risk management. Both sides shared potential areas of synergy, further collaboration, and mutual interests, including capacity building with the FEMA Youth Preparedness Council, knowledge generated, and sharing of youth-led initiatives.
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5. Outcomes A.
Seeds for a Safer Tomorrow Toolkit
The “Seeds for a Safer Tomorrow Toolkit” aims to empower children and youth with knowledge and skills to meaningfully contribute to the implementation of the Sendai Framework. This capacity building guide provided core concepts for action towards disaster risk reduction (DRR), practical questions that youth can use to plan a youth action and steps to organise a capacity building training regarding the Sendai Framework within local communities. The guide also shared some experiences about practical physical workshops around the world to equip youth at the local and regional levels with relevant knowledge and tools to engage with the contemporary DRR challenges. The Seeds for a Safer Tomorrow Toolkit may be downloaded from here.
B. DRR Edition - Youth Science-Policy Interface Publication The Disaster Risk Reduction Edition of the Youth Science-Policy Interface Publication captures and promotes the role of young people in sharing knowledge of evidence-informed best practices, science and technology, emerging trends, challenges, and solutions in the implementation, monitoring, follow-up, and review of inter-governmentally agreed and allied frameworks on sustainable development – specifically in disaster-related contexts. This initiative is part of the UN MGCY Youth Science-Policy Interface Platform and coordinated by the UN MGCY. Launched in May 2017, it was designed to feed into the discussions of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, specifically around the SPI mandate, in order to showcase the contributions of young scientists, engineers, practitioners, and students in strengthening the science-policy interface, further linking policy and practice for a sustainable society. It seeks to build coherence between the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) and the DRRdimensions of other intergovernmental sustainable development agendas (e.g. 2030 Agenda, New Urban Agenda, etc.). The Disaster Risk Reduction Edition takes the form of a magazine, containing a series of youth-led, peer-reviewed articles highlighting important topics and trends, stemming from both the social and the natural sciences. This reflects only one of the initiatives meant to provide an outlet for young people to contribute to strengthening the science-policy-practice nexus. It is also an example of the work done within the UN MGCY Young Scientist Platform on DRR, as well as a core element of the Young Scientist Roadmap, each of which serve to contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the UNISDR S&T Roadmap and Partnership, promoting more fit-for-purpose and effective implementation, follow-up, and review of the SFDRR. The full DRR edition of the Youth Science-Policy Interface Publication may be downloaded from here.
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C.
GPDRR Policy Brief
As part of the team’s advocacy strategy and policy engagement, the UN MGCY developed a policy brief in order to scrutinise the progress, best practices, lessons learnt, and discrepancies made since the Sendai Framework’s adoption in 2015, with particular focus on its implementation, and the involvement and key roles of youth in this process. The development of this Policy Brief was made in the months prior to the GPDRR by consulting different and relevant stakeholders with several calls for input for the different sections present at this document. These sections included a general assessment of process and progress according to the themes discussed at the GPDRR, experiences and lessons learnt from regional and thematic forum related to the SFDRR, a list on the emerging issues in DRR and the situation of Children and Youth engagement in DRR at all levels. The result is an extensive document that covers a wide range of aspects related to DRR pointing out the paramount importance of ensuring coherent, people-centered and evidence-based policy by engaging youth at all levels. The UN MGCY GPDRR Policy Brief may be downloaded from here.
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Youth Actions in DRR Publication
During the months prior to the GPDRR, the UN MGCY GPDRR Organising Committee issued a call for youth around the world to submit case studies of the DRR-related activities which they were carrying out at a community, national and international level. This call was circulated amongst the UN MGCY’s key youth and scientific partners and networks, and submissions were received from across the world. The resulting publication showcased 10 youth actions, showcasing initiatives of grassroots DRR work led by youth. This publication can be downloaded from here.
E.
Youth Engagement Platform
The Youth Engagement Platform (YEP) was launched at an Ignite Stage session during GPDRR. The YEP, a codeveloped initiative by the UN MGCY and UNISDR, will become the primary mechanism to mobilise, coordinate and facilitate youth globally to meaningfully contribute to DRR policy design, implementation, follow up and review at a global, national and local level. It creates an inclusive, open and transparent platform, and will constitute the institutionalised space for youth within UNISDR’s scope of activities. This platform will support UNISDR’s objective to enable a more inclusive and diverse set of actors to support DRR and the implementation of the Sendai Framework. YEP’s areas of focus are aligned with the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework. The core structure will constitute: 1. Capacity Building Stream: facilitating youth-led and intergenerational training, knowledge transfer and mentoring 2. Policy and Advocacy Stream: facilitating youth participation as equal stakeholders in the implementation, monitoring, follow up and review of the Sendai Framework at a global, regional and thematic level and other related forums relating to the 2030 Agenda 3. Youth Action Stream: showcasing youth-led actions on DRR, sharing best practice and data on youth contributions
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Knowledge Stream: providing a platform for young people to further develop the DRR evidence base through the assessment, generation and dissemination of knowledge through various avenues
The YEP has been endorsed by Robert Glasser, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General, and will its terms of reference and implementation plan will be finalised in the latter part of 2017.
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Formal Conference Outcomes
UNISDR has developed a document providing a comprehensive report of all GPDRR proceedings, which may be viewed here. In addition, the formal 2017 GPDRR conference outcomes included: • The Chair’s Summary • Cancun High-Level Communiqué
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6. Visibility A.
Activities Prior to GPDRR
As a precursor to GDPRR, the Media and Communications team of the UN MGCY GPDRR Organising Committee held a Twitter chat on 16 May 2017 between two prominent DRR youth advocates: Sandra Kemeh, Africa Regional Focal Point for the UN MGCY DRR working group, and Mizan Bustanul Fuady Bisri, PhD Candidate at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies in Kobe University, Japan. Background research, pre interviews and discussion of talking points took place to prepare the youth for the twitter chat. This was done in order to keep the discourse relevant to the GPDRR and to push youth advocacy, involvement and capacity building. During the twitter chat, youth from across the world contributed questions and comments to the invited speakers.
B.
Social Media during GPDRR
During the GPDRR, the UN MGCY maintained a strong social media presence, both to highlight the youth participants ongoing activities, as well as to engage young people who were not present to contribute and support this work. This involved keeping the UN MGCY Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts up to date, relaying realtime quotes, photos and information about the ongoing engagement. This was planned for and strategised in the months leading up to GPDRR, led by the Media and Communications team of the UN MGCY GDPRR Organising Committee.
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Other stakeholders and individuals were encouraged to formally and informally engage with the UN MGCY’s social media activity throughout the GPDRR. This entailed taking photos, quoting speakers, writing blogs, giving interviews and posting social media content on behalf of the team. The youth participants were encouraged to frame their posts within the wider context of youth engagement in DRR. This strategy we believe helped bolster impact and increase the visibility of youth and our diverse activities within GPDRR. Facebook The UN MGCY Facebook page posted content at an average of every 12 hours during the days leading up to and including GPDRR. The average reach of these posts was between 800-900 people. Twitter The following are the metrics used to analyse impact of Twitter activity during the GPDRR Youth Forum and our formal engagement in the GPDRR: Number of Tweets
140
Tweets retweeted
743
Organic Impressions
75, 344
The top tweet from GPDRR was:
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Total Impressions
1,291
Total engagements
22
Likes
6
Retweets
5
Thunderclap The UN MGCY’s Social Media Thunderclap was successful in its original aim, which was to expose and promote youth engagement with DRR to as wide an audience as possible both within and outside of the direct DRR community. The original Thunderclap message evolved as the objective of our message was tailored throughout the planning process. We reached 106,561 social media accounts with our message. The thunderclap message was as follows:
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Blogs Before and during the summit, the Media and Communications team asked UN MGCY members and those attending the Youth Assembly to write blogs about their own related expertise and their engagement with the GPDRR process to post on official UN MGCY social media and website. The subsequent blogs were edited and posted across our websites and social media platforms. ● The Place for Youth in Building Resilience ● The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction ● Recibe la universidad Anáhuac Cancún a jóvenes de la ONU durante el GPDRR ● Youth Engagement in the GPDRR 2017 ● Youth Action in DRR ● Policy Brief 7th GPDRR Summary Video A video summarising the UN MGCY’s activities and engagement with GPDRR was created by the team and disseminated via email and various social media channels. This video may be viewed here.
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7. Financial Summary Thanks to the generous DSA donations from other funded youth, the UN MGCY were able to support five international young people, and five regional and local young people to attend the conference. In addition to the support of these 10 young individuals, we also covered costs associated with the GPDRR Youth Forum, including printing of materials (which were also showcased in the C&Y Exhibition Booth), refreshments (including lunch, coffee break and networking reception), souvenirs for the hosts and transportation to and from the venue for participants. A clarification of bellow finance outline is that the listed DSA is not the DSA received, but the DSA donated by the individual who received the DSA. The DSA received was more or less the same, the lowest amount received was to one of the European ones, while the amount to the additional European one and the African one were similar. The expenses in Mexico was also similar due to centralised booking. The amount donated vary a lot due to it being the choice of the individual, where some wish to leave Mexico with personal surplus while others perceive the support as a collective support and thereby donate it all.
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8. Next Steps Following on from the 2017 GPDRR, the UN MGCY DRR working group will continue to facilitate the engagement of youth from across the world in the Sendai Framework process. Youth stand ready and are already active in implementing aspects of the Sendai Framework through youth-led technical DRR initiatives at a local through national and international level, and strengthening the evidence base through the robust research of young scientists. In addition, youth globally are committed to supporting the Framework’s effective monitoring and review through relevant regional, thematic and global DRR meetings, and at the High-Level Political Forum where Goal 9 will be reviewed in the 2017 session, and where Goal 11 will be under review in the 2018 session. To guide this work, we look forward to formalising the institutionalised engagement of children and youth within the Sendai Framework process through the Youth Engagement Platform, whose structure and terms of reference will be finalised within the latter half of 2017. We also look forward to the 2019 GPDRR which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from 1317 May 2019.
9. Contact For further information about the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) and the disaster risk reduction working group, please contact the Global Focal Points at drrdop@childrenyouth.org.
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