Great opportunities to connect with international movements, witnessing the prospects within Global Youth Mobilisation and re-connecting with the Big Six Organisations in a unique setting, in the heart of Europe.
On the 10th of October, we had the opportunity to represent our European Movement, together with World YMCA at the Global Gateway High Level Youth Event, in Brussels, Belgium.
The Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) is an initiative of the World’s Big Six Youth Organisations launched in December 2020, together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Foundation (UNF), as a response to alleviating the negative impacts of the pandemic on young people.
GYM`s youth-led solutions model brings together young people in their diversity in more than 125 countries across the world. Directly investing in young people, informal groups, youth-led organisations and national organisations of the Big Six in the implementation of initiatives related to the sustainable development of their communities and societies.
Hosted by the European Commission, the Global Gateway High-Level Youth Event highlighted the transformational impact of the EU youth agenda, celebrate achievements and new partnerships and connect youth champion networks.
During the programme, we had the chance to attend sessions on young leaders as partners of the European Institutions as well as enticing panel discussions, where Carlos Sanvee, Secretary General of World YMCA, as Global Youth Mobilization Board Chairperson joined a discussion on “Breaking Barriers: Two Years of Implementation of the Youth Action Plan.”
Carlos highlighted the importance of the Youth Empowerment Fund in removing financial obstacles for young people, along with the strong partnership between the Big Six and the European Union in fostering meaningful change.
He emphasized that enhancing meaningful youth participation, through initiatives like the Global Youth Mobilization, is vital for driving lasting change in communities worldwide and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“Global Youth Mobilization is about providing ownership to young people – to design their programs, with young people in governance, and young people to decide who gets the fund” – said Carlos, as he was reflecting on the importance of empowering young people and providing them with the opportunities to be the real decision-makers.
It has been a fruitful experience for our team to connect with Loris Tarazi, from East Jerusalem YMCA, and Youth Representative of the Global Youth Mobilization at the EU Global Gateway High-Level Youth Event, and also a great opportunity to liaise with the leadership within the Big Six Organisations present at the event.
We are grateful to World YMCA for having us attend the event and be able to expand our capacity and network at such a prestigious event centred around young people and community empowerment worldwide.
Also, considering the great importance of the day of the 10th of October as World Mental Health Day, we received a special message from Carlos – showcasing our awareness and gratitude towards young people across the world.