Vienna, Austria: While corruption is an impediment to development and the attainment of peaceful and just societies, the critical role of youth in driving positive change is being increasingly recognized. Young people have much to lose from corruption but also have an important role to play in supporting anti-corruption efforts and decision-making processes to ensure that laws and policies respond to the concerns of youth and their visions of the future. To support this, UNODC works with and for youth to tackle corruption around the world, including through flagship initiatives such as the Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment -
the GRACE Initiative - and its new
YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board.
The Political Declaration adopted at the United Nations
General Assembly's special session on corruption in June 2021, places anti-corruption education and training at the heart of a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to promoting transparency, accountability, integrity and a culture of rejection of corruption as a basis for preventing and countering corruption. The YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board, established in 2021, supports the GRACE Initiative in advancing anti-corruption work by establishing a permanent anti-corruption youth voice to find sustainable and efficient solutions to global corruption problems across four cross-cutting principles – partnerships, innovation, gender and youth.
To do so, UNODC works with 25 talented young people from across the globe as members of the YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board. Their interest and experience in youth empowerment, sustainable development, integrity, ethics, and anti-corruption, offer an important approach to bolstering these areas.
“Corruption is a global epidemic that affects all aspects of our life from bribery, misuse of power and public resources, the discretion of officials with no accountability,” Diana Pasha, a YouthLED Board member from Kenya, explains. “I joined the YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board for the purpose of learning and being part of the conscious youth who must solve the problems of governance,” adds Sylvain Obedi Katindi, a YouthLED Board member from the Republic of Congo, who is also a disability rights activist, national gender equality advocate, and the co-founder and Executive Director of Enable the Disable Action (EDA).
“My inspiration to join the UNODC YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board is that I strongly resonate with UNODC's mission through the GRACE Initiative which is to create a culture of rejection of corruption among children and the youth. I have always wanted to be an agent of change and always believed I have a voice. Being part of the YouthLED Board will help amplify my voice to the world and inspire other young people to be change-makers and make the world a better place,” Ms. Pasha concludes.
Due to the meaningful engagement of young people in the GRACE Initiative, they have been actively involved in different youth-led events, including
International Youth Day. This year, International Youth Day calls attention to ageism, which affects both young and elderly people while having negative repercussions on society. The theme, “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages”, emphasizes the need for action across all generations to accomplish the
Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) and ensure that no one is left behind.
Ageism can surface in healthcare, the workplace, and many other aspects of life. “Every entry-level job requires two years of job experience but how is that possible if no one will hire without job experience? In Japan they are introducing a lot of on-the-job training programmes or blind recruitments. These kinds of steps really help encourage those public and private sectors to hire young, talented people,” notes Naranpurev Tsenguunbileg, an undergraduate student of international law and political science at Nagoya University’s G30 programme in Japan who is also a YouthLED Board member.
The significance of youth in the world cannot be overstated. According to estimates, there are 1.21 billion young people aged 15 to 24, accounting for 15.5 per cent of the world’s population. Young people have been active architects in the formulation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and continue to be involved in the structures and procedures that enable its implementation, follow-up, and evaluation. The approval of the 2030 Agenda marked the completion of a three-year process that involved Member States and civil society, including youth organizations, in the establishment of precise objectives and targets—and the start of a 15-year journey to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The work and mission of the GRACE Initiative and the YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board support the achievement of several targets under SDG 16, including: SDG 4.7 on ensuring that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development; SDG 16.3 on promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensuring equal access to justice for all; 16.5 on substantially reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms; and 16.6 on developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
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