Guyana took centre stage at the recently concluded Global Beyond 2015 Youth Summit in Costa Rica where it lobbied the United Nations and International Telecommunications Union to involve more youth in its decision-making processes while underscoring the importance of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the development of the world.
As the Global Beyond 2015 Global Youth Summit came to an end on Wednesday, its youth declaration, setting priorities for the “Future We Want”, was presented to Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla, who will take the collective message of the world’s youth to the United Nations General Assembly later this month.
The summit was held from September 9 to 11 and Guyana’s representative was Evening News Editor and Journalist Michael Younge.
More than 180 countries fielded representatives who participated in several roundtable discussions, debates, competitions and discussions about the use of ICTs and their role in aiding the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as well as other objectives related to sustainable development.
The summit themes were “Get Ahead”, “Be Healthy”, “Be Safe and Change your World”, all of which aimed at harnessing the collective creativity and concerns of the youths present in San Jose.
Younge speaking during the full session of the summit, reported on the outcome of one of the thematic workshops hosted on day one. In his address, he underscored the importance of negotiating for success and the need for the United Nations to work more closely with youths to remove the barriers that are restricting access to the Internet in countries that are hit by underdevelopment, poverty and affordability issues.
Humbled
Speaking with Guyana Times International upon his return, Younge said that he was happy to have participated in the summit and was humbled by the declaration sent to the UN by the youths present at the forum, which he described as “remarkable”. “I am proud to have echoed my views at the summit. I am also thankful that I had the opportunity to share with the summit some of the remarkable things that Guyana is doing in the area of ICTs like our One Laptop Per Family Project and several others that aim at increasing Internet connectivity here and access altogether.”
Younge has also reported that he had the opportunity to visit the Earth University in Costa Rica, listen to the first lady of Nigeria deliver an address at the summit and also meet some of the leading minds in ICTs from around the world.
At the summit, Costa Rica’s President Laura Chincilla congratulated the participants for sounding their voices and sharing their solutions for dealing with issues which are still critical to achieving equity and improved access to education, information, the Internet and development.
Guyana was the only Caribbean country that participated fully and vocally in all of the sessions.
The UN secretary general’s envoy on youth, Ahmad Alhendawi said he was committed to taking the message of youth to the United Nations, while urging young people to take responsibility to make their voices heard.
