An ambitious new non-political, non-religious digital “state” that aims to transcend national borders and empower the global youth community (13-24 years old) to act on the world’s most pressing issues will launch at the Nobel Peace World Summit this week. The unique “for youth, by youth” platform, founded by KidsRights will give a powerful voice to young people via participative forums and share information to drive real change and impact on issues that matter on a global scale. What sets this initiative apart from existing initiatives, is the sheer scope and ambition to increase awareness, build advocacy and create action amongst millions of young people.
“The State of Youth initiative recognises the power of young global citizens, and the value of our perspectives and proposed solutions to the most important challenges of our time,” says Abraham M Keita, youth board member. “We are excited to launch this ambitious initiative to drive youth participation in helping to make the world a better place – and call upon young people to join us to get their State of Youth “citizenship” now.” State of Youth will share compelling information and will build awareness around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via an editorial Instagram channel (@Stateofyouth), highlighting key issues and their specific relevance for the youth community. The platform will play host to referenda on issues relating to the SDGs, with the results set to be published in a State of Youth report that will be shared directly with world leaders.
The first ever worldwide referendum – on climate change – will be launched at stateofyouth.org on September 21 during the UN Youth Climate Summit and the referendum will be opened to the youth worldwide that day. At the UN General Assembly on September 23 world leaders will be presented with the intermediate results of the referendum at the State of Youth live studio. State of Youth will also provide civic education trainings and leadership opportunities for young people, as well as galvanise potential change makers to take action and mobilise others, resulting in measurable grassroots impact.
“Nearly half the world’s population is under the age of 24, but young people’s voices are rarely represented when world leaders are making important decisions about the future,” said Marc Dullaert, founder of KidsRights and the State of Youth initiative. “State of Youth is about transcending borders and giving the youth community a seat at the table to drive change. We are very grateful to leverage Facebook to connect State of Youth with a massive global youth audience to ensure that their voices are heard.”
