CONCEPT NOTE 3rd Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange - Thailand

“Empower Youth to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” 14-26January2018,Thailand

Background and Rationale Youth in 21st century

Today’syouthhavecomeofageinanenvironmentofunprecedentedpotentialforempowerment:theylivein an interconnected world transformed by technological advances. This young generation is the mostpopulous theworldhaseverknown, investing inyouth is thereforeparamount. Inmanycountries, youngpeoplearealsoactiveinthepublicsphere,contributingtotheircommunitiesininnovativeways,takingpartinpublicdebatesanddiscussions,andclaimingaspaceasstakeholdersinthedevelopmentprocessthataffectthem,theircommunities,andtheircountries.

Sustainable development Goals

TheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)isauniversalsetoftargetsandindicatorslaidoutbyandforUnitedNationsmemberstatestoframetheirpoliticalpoliciesandagendauntil2030.1TheSDGsareacarry-overandexpansion of theMillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) expired by the end of 2015, 15 years after thememberstatesagreedin2000.

On September 2015, world leaders gathered in the UN Headquarters in New York and forged theircommitmenttothe17SDGs.Thesegoalsareprimarilyfocusedon17primaryissuesrelatedtoinclusiveandsustainable development globally: Poverty, Hunger, Health, Education, Gender Equality, CleanWater andSanitation,RenewableEnergy,Decent JobsandEconomicGrowth, Innovation, Industryand Infrastructure,Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption, Climate Action, LifebelowWater,LifeonLand,PeaceandJusticeandPartnershipsfortheGoals.

Role of Youth in Asia in Achieving SDGs

The17goalsand169targetsoftheSDGsaremuchmorecomplexthanthe8goalsand21targetsoftheMDGs.EffortstoachievetheSDGswillrequiretheinvolvementofallstakeholderstodotheirpartespeciallyyoungpeople. The FutureWeWant outcome document of Rio+20UN Conference on Sustainable Developmentemphasizes this when it referred to young people as “custodians of the future” – highlighting youth asimportant stakeholders with critical roles to play in helping achieve the goal of a sustainable future forthemselvesandfuturegenerations..2

Overthepastdecade,therehasbeenagrowingrecognitionoftheyouth'sparticipationineconomic,socialandpoliticalprocesses.Governments, international agencies, civil societyandprivate sectororganizationsacrosstheAsia-Pacificregionhaverealizedthatyoungpeoplearepowerfulagentsofchangewho,ifsupportedandempowered,candrivetheachievementoftheSDGs.WemustensurethatAsia’syoungpeoplebenefitfromandcontributetotheserapiddevelopmentstoensureinclusivegrowthintheregionandhelpachievethe17SDGs.

Youth’simmensepotentialisespeciallytrueforAsia-Pacificwhere754millionyoungpeoplereside–makingitthemostyouthfulregionintheworld.3TheyouthpopulationofIndiaisunrivalled,with65%ofitspopulation1 Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development",

(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld) 2 2012. The Future We Want. P 41.3 UnitedNations.2011.YouthDemographicsWorldwide.DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,PopulationDivision.Geneva.

atage35orunder,andhalfthecountry'spopulationof1.25billionpeopleisunder25yearsold.4Insomeofthesecountries,thepercentageofyoungpeopleunderage24canexceed50%ofthepopulation–presentinganenormousopportunityforAsiaandthePacific.5

Opportunities available at present

IntheAsiaPacificregion,manyyouthorganizations,CSOs,socialenterprises,universitiesandindividualsareimplementing various initiatives in order to improve the contribution of youth toward sustainabledevelopment.Theymayvaryfromraisingawareness,engagingmoreyouthandtakingactions.Atpresentonlyfewmechanismsexisttobringmanyofthesestakeholderstoonelocationtonetworkwitheachotherandbuildsynergyintheirprojects.

Intoday’scontext,manyyoutheventsandconferencesarebeinghosted,nationally,regionallyandgloballyinordertoachievevariousobjectivessuchasnetworking,shapingglobalagendasetc.Buttherehavebeenveryfew initiatives toengage thoseyouthparticipantswith thegrassroots local communitiesandprovide longlastingsolutionstotheirchallenges.Thiswillbegoodopportunitytoshowcasethedirectcontributionofyouthtowardsustainabledevelopment.

Focus Areas 1. Provide an opportunity for youth leaders in Asia Pacific (individuals, representatives from CSOs,

governments, private, social enterprises and development agencies) to network and brainstormactionplansforthesustainablefuture.

2. Identifychallengesinacommunityandengageyouthtoprovideinnovative,inclusiveandsustainablesolutionsthroughyouthvoice,socialentrepreneurshipandvolunteering

Objectives 1. Toimproveyoungpeople’sunderstandingofSDGsandtheirrolesinachievingthem.2. TobuildthecapacityofyouthandpartnersinimplementingprojectsandactivitiesalignedtotheSDGs.3. To facilitate increased cooperationamongyoungpeopleacrossAsia and thePacific through cross

culturaldialogues,networkingandpartnerships4. TostrengthenglobalandregionalpartnershipfortheSDGsandyouthdevelopmentinAsia-Pacific.5. Toidentifyopportunitiesforinclusionofyoungpeopleindecision-makingandimplementationofthe

SDGs.6. PromoteyouthvolunteeringasatooltosupportachievingtheSDGs7. To raise awareness of SDGs in Community level in Thailand, and support them on SDGs

implementationintheircontext.

Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange The1stAsia-PacificYouthExchangeishostedinJanuary2016inManila,ThePhilippines,hostedbyUrbanYouthAcademyandAsiaDevelopmentBank(ADB).APYEProgramiscurrentlyestablishedin3countriesincludingSouthKorea,ThePhilippinesandThailand,withmorethan1000APYEAlumnusfromover25countriesaroundtheworld.

4UNFPA.2014.TheStateoftheWorldPopulation2014.URLAvailable:http://www.unfpa.org/swopAccessedon18December2014.5 TherepublicoftheMarshallIsland’spopulationunder18yearsoldis50%whilethePhilippines,Cambodiaandbelow24yearsold

populationexceedsthatof50%.IndonesiaandVietnamisslightlyunder50%,accordingtoIndexMundi.

Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange in Thailand 2017 (8 – 22 January and 17-30 July 2017)

The1stAsia-PacificYouthExchange(APYE)inThailandheldinJanuary2017wasorganizedbyUrbanYouthAcademy (UYA) incollaborationwith theAsia-Pacific InterAgencyNetworkonYouth, includingUNDPandother11UnitedNationsDevelopmentAgencies.The2ndeditionwashostedincollaborationwithUNDPinThailand and UNESCAP in July 2017 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok and LocalCommunitiesacrossThailand.

Underthetheme“EmpoweringYouthtoAchievetheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs),”eacheditionAPYEmobilizedmorethan200youngleadersandrepresentativesofyouth-ledcivilsocietyorganizationsfrom21countriesacrossAsia-Pacificandtheworld.

DesignedtobuildcapacityofyoungpeopletocontributetotheachievementoftheSDGs,APYEwascomposedofthreemainparts:(i)LeadershipandDevelopmentTraining,(ii)LocalImmersion,and(iii)YouthSymposium.

TheLeadershipDevelopmentTrainingprovidedknowledgeon sustainabledevelopmentandequipped theparticipants with skills on social entrepreneurship, project management, research, and communityengagement.

DividedintogroupsbasedontheSDGs,theyouthparticipantsengagedwithlocalcommunitiestodevelopadeeperunderstandingofexistingdevelopmentchallengesonthegroundinrelationtotheSDGs.EachgroupassessedtheneedsofthecommunitiesbasedontheirassignedSDGsandpreparedprojectproposalsthatsolve existing challenges in the areas.With hands-on practices facing social reality in local context, LocalImmersion isaspacefor internationalyouthnetworktoresearchanddesign innovationsolutionsfor localcommunities in Thailand. Youth teams will present their project outputs during Symposium to showcaseimpactsthroughsocialentrepreneurship.

APYEThailandfocusesonusingSocialEntrepreneurshipasatoolforSDGsimplementationinlocalcommunity.The outcomes of the program were developed in order to strengthen sustainable and inclusive socialinnovationsfromyouthtoaddressthechallengesfacedbythesociety.

Through this program, learning opportunities for youth were not only limited to knowledge sharing anddiscussionbutalsoallowedthemtowitnesshandsonexperienceinThaicommunities,includingresearchoncurrent situation of SDGs in communities in 6 provinces including Bangkok, Samutprakarn, ChonburiChiangmai, Kanchanaburi and Trat. Through 7 days living and working with communities, delegates areexpectedtoprovide30socialprojectsforimplementationof16SDGsinCommunities(SDG17–PartnershipforGoalsisembeddedineveryproject).Aftertheprogram,theproposalsarehandedovertocommunitiestobeimplementedandsustained.

Asia-Pacific Youth Exchange in Thailand 2018 (14 – 26 January 2018)

Thesuccessof1stand2ndAPYEPrograminThailandwasaremarkablestartingpointforSDGawarenessinThailandthroughYouthAction.Withthesuccessoffirsttwoeditionsinthepast,theorganizerswishtoexpandthereachoftheprogramtograssrootscommunitiesacrossThailandandinternationalyouthnetwork.Withthislimelight,APYEProgramJanuary2018willbeholdfrom14-26January2017.Throughthecontinuationoftheprogramduringthesameyear,programteamaimstobuildsustainablesolutionsforcommunitiesthroughInternational Youth and Community collaboration. Social Entrepreneur mindset to accelerate SDGimplementation is an important key driver that this program would like to build for Participants andcommunities.

APYEProgramproposetoengagewithRegionaldevelopmentactorsalongwiththepurposefulcollaborationongroundworkinThaiCommunitieswithUNDPThailandandGovernmentsector.Theprogramproposestoengageover300YouthacrossAsiaPacificwhoarekeentoengagewithsocialinnovationaddressingsocietalissues.

Methodology for 3rd APYE in Thailand

The3rdAPYEinThailandwillcontainthreemajorcomponents:

1. LeadershipDevelopmentTraining–Thiscomponentconsistsofa3-4dayresidentialworkshopaimingtoachievethefollowingobjectives,

i. Improve the self-awareness of the participants – provide spaces to have necessaryconversationsandself-assessments,inorderforyouthtodiscovertheirfull-potential

ii. Understandthecontext–ParticipantswillbeabletounderstandtheroleofyouthinachievingSDGs, and also the context of the challenges faced by the local communities to achievesustainabledevelopment

iii. Improvedesign thinking–Throughworkshopsondesigningsolutions (surveying,mappingideas, feasibility analysis, action planning etc.), youth will obtain the necessary skills andknowledgetoprovidesustainablesolutionstothechallengesinthecommunities

iv. Teambuildingandnetworking–Provideopportunitiesforyouthfromvarioussectorstoworkinteamsandnetworkwitheachothertobuildacommunityofyoungleadersforsustainabledevelopmentintheregion

2. LocalImmersion–Participantswillbeimmersedtothelocalcommunitiesforaperiodofoneweekas

teams to enhance the solutions for the existing challenges based on the SDGs. Through thiscomponentfollowingobjectiveswillbemet,

i. Immersiontolocalreality–Participantswillbehostedbythelocalcommunities,whichwillallowthemtogainafirst-handexperienceonthesituationfacedbythecommunities

ii. Puttheoryonpractice–Youthwillgettheopportunitytoworkwiththelocalcommunitiesgatheringdata,ratifyingideasinordertoprovidefeasiblesolutionsfortheexistingchallenges

iii. Improveculturalunderstanding–Throughtheimmersiontoalocalcommunityasadiverseteam,participantswillhaveajourneyofdiscoveringnewcultures,normsandthewaythattheyliveandwork,whichenablethemtounderstandandrespecteachother

3. AsiaPacificYouthSymposium–Throughthis2-3-daysconferencefollowingobjectiveswillbemeti. Validatesolutionsandseekresourcestosustainthem–Solutionswhicharedevelopedby

the youth will be comprehensively evaluated and the best will be recognized (finance,logistics,knowledgeetc.)withsupporttoexecutethem

ii. Meetthedemandsofthefuture–Throughfutureorientation,youthwillgetopportunitytounderstandhow theycan successfully contribute to sustainabledevelopment in theirownlocalcommunities

iii. Planningfornextsteps–Toenhancethelong-lastingimpactoftheentireprogramyouthwillplanfortheirnextstepsbasedontheexistingstructuresorprograms.

Outcomes 1. Empower300+AsiaPacificYouthleaderstotakesustainableactionstowardachievingSDGs2. Supporttoenhancetheimpactof30projectsimplementedbySocialenterprisesorCommunitieswith

resources,innovationandvolunteering3. RaisetheawarenessofSDGsforover1,000youth4. Virtualplatformtomaintaintheinteractionbetweentheparticipantsandpartnersinthelongterm

Timeline Oct Nov Dec Jan FebLaunchoftheprogram Engagingpartners Developingtheprogramcomponents Engagelocalcommunities Promotionsforparticipantsandselection APYEJanuary2018program Evaluationandreporting

Partnering for Results 1. Extend our collaborative network across Public, Private and Civil sectors to foster social

entrepreneurshipforSDGs2. MajorYouthOrganizationsintheregionsuchas2030YouthForceandModelAPECwillsupportto

promotetheprogramandsupportwithvolunteers3. PrivatesectorpartnerssuchasCP,BangkokAirwayswillsupportinbuildingthecontentbasedonthe

needsoflocalcommunitiesandfuturemarkets4. Universitieswillsupportyouthdelegatestotakepartintheprogramandfacilitatedialoguesabout

youthcontributiontotheSDGs