The Next Generation of Change

The current host city for the annual Civicus World Assembly is Glasgow, which has broken new ground by running the first ever Civicus Youth Assembly, bringing together 150 young delegates from many different countries, who also attended the subsequent 1000 strong World Assembly as full delegates. I had the privilege of participating in this momentous week of collaboration, learning and creativity.

The week was an absolutely fantastic experience, offering a plethora of opportunities to interact with peers of wonderfully varied nationalities, interests, passions and skills. A social schedule taking in a traditional Scottish Ceilidh dancing session certainly helped delegates bond before the conference proper got underway!

Successful Zambian musician and activist James Ngoma continued the rhythmic theme by talking about his use of art to empower and educate young people politically and involved the entire crowd in an impassioned demonstration. Guest speakers such as Civicus President and noted anti-apartheid campaigner Kumi Naidoo and Oxfam campaigner Adam Askew contributed but this were truly a youth led event at heart.

Different groups led workshops on issues such as Asylum Policy and Climate Change and on techniques including Project Management, Media Campaigning and Participatory decision-making. This final session led to the production of a 9 point agenda of issues important to those young people represented to take forward to the full assembly. The nine key issues agreed were as follows:

Intolerance and discrimination

Poverty

HIV and AIDS

Limited Access to and Quality of Healthcare

Limited Access to and Poor Quality of Education

Adverse Effects of Technological Development

Lack of Economic Opportunities for Young People

Unfulfilled Human Rights

Ecological Crisis

Into the full World Assembly and the youth delegates carried the momentum of their commitments forward, participating in an even broader range of activities relating to issue facing the social justice movement in its various forms. The highlights of the gathering included a debate recorded for BBC Digital featuring contributors including mercurial former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Judith Robertson Head of Oxfam in Scotland and the opportunity for delegates to make a Musical and Political statement against Global Poverty by joining an impromptu choir for the inaugural performance of the Poverty Requiem.

Youth Delegates experienced challenges making their own voices heard at times and resolved to create a platform to contribute by creating a document ‘A Call for Intergenerational Collaboration-Make Change Happen.’ The document outlines their nine concerns and the integral role envisaged for young people in contributing to the work of Civicus and securing the chance to present it. This was achieved in the opening plenary of the final day of the event and received by an enthusiastic, attentive audience.

Events like the Civicus World Assembly present vital opportunities to learn in a dynamic, collaborative environment that it is difficult to do justice to in a short article. Without action to create change in the world that dynamism and collaboration means nothing, but having met so many committed, memorable and talented people over the course of my time in Glasgow I am confident that that change is possible. Roll on 2008!

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