Youth Voices Project
Youth Voices is a project implemented by the
Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN), in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the
Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung/DNR, with support from the Japan Biodiversity Fund and other partners and donors, including the governments of Germany, the Republic of Korea, Mexico and the European Commission.
The project is in line with the
United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Youth to ensure the progressive, substantive inclusion of young people in political and decision-making processes at local, national, regional and international levels, and with priority action area 4 of the
Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) which aims to empower and mobilize youth and to multiply ESD actions among youth. The project is also supportive of the communication strategy of the
Global Biodiversity Outlook 4, contributes to the
United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 and supports Parties in implementing a number of decisions of the Conference of the Parties including decisions X/2, XI/8, XII/1 and XII/8.
The project aims at building the capacity of the network's members and member organizations to: participate and actively engage in CBD processes by facilitating their participation in capacity-building activities related to CBD meetings and in relevant CBD meetings, including in replicating knowledge gained during those activities and in reporting on their experiences; enable youth to inform their peers about what they can do in support of the
Aichi Biodiversity Targets and share examples of what youth do in their daily activities including through the use of modern technologies.
Since the start of the project in 2015, the following activities have taken place:
Ongoing: Series of regional workshops
As part of the project, GYBN is organizing a series of capacity-building workshops in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. These week-long regional workshops will bring together 10-15 young leaders in each region to: learn about the Convention on Biological Diversity; the
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the
Aichi Biodiversity Targets; catalyze concrete actions to bring these legally-binding international decisions down to the local, national, and regional levels. Participants will receive training in international biodiversity conservation policy, media campaign skills and project management to create or enhance existing projects that directly contribute to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Preparation and launch of CBD in a Nutshell-A guidebook to the CBD process
GYBN launched the first edition of
CBD in a Nutshell- A guidebook to the CBD process at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in December 2016, and the second edition was launched at COP 14 in 2018. The objective of the guidebook is to help interested stakeholders better understand the CBD process. It introduces the decision-making-process, the various institutions and mechanisms around CBD meetings as well as relevant rules and procedures, and it provides an overview of the most important issues in the negotiations. On 13 February 2017, a
CBD notification further introduced the guidebook to CBD Parties and partner organizations.
Participation of youth representatives in the meetings of the conference of the Parties and subsidiary bodies of the CBD
During the project cycle, over fifty young people have effectively and actively participated in CBD meetings including the
twentieth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice and of the
thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. Among other activities and contributions, GYBN representatives reached out to COP delegates by holding a kiosk and organizing side-events, press conferences, campaigns and social media activities.
Previously, GYBN representatives also took an active part in the 10th, 11th and 12th meetings of the Conference of the Parties and other CBD meetings. For more examples, consult the
GYBN website and detailed reports prepared by youth representatives from
Brazil and
India, and
Colombia on their involvement in the fifth meeting of the Ad-Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention (WGRI-5), eigteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-18) and COP 12, respectively.
Participation of a GYBN representative at UNESCO Youth Forum-Young Global Citizens For A Sustainable Planet
Following a call for applications launched by GYBN, a youth from Colombia was selected from among 35 applicants to participate at the UNESCO Youth Forum-Young Global Citizens For A Sustainable Planet of the 38th session of the General Conference which took place from 26 to 28 October 2015 in Paris, France. The youth delegate worked together with other youth representatives to integrate biodiversity in the youth
recommendations that were submitted to UNESCO General Conference.
