













“NoModerated by Alhendawi, the first plenary session was held under the theme of “A Changing World of Learning: Where does Non-Formal Education fit in?” where BKMC CEO Monika Froehler featured as a key speaker.n-formal education is a prerequisite for meaningful engagement in modern society. We are witnessing the largest generation of youth the world has ever seen, and it is our responsibility to ensure that every young person has access to opportunities that allow them to thrive in this rapidly changing society,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, Secretary General of the Scout Movement, who also serves on the Ban Ki-moon Centre’s Board.
She said “a life-long learning is incredibly important and non-formal education is actually much faster than formal education and is a pioneer in the life-long learning platform.”
“We need people that have agency. We need people with a global citizenship mindset,”quoting Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group and Jack Ma Foundation, Froehler said that this is exactly what non-formal education says.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Youth Envoy, stressed that there should be “mutual respects across generations and within the generation.” Leading the youth panel discussion, she agreed that young people should not be expected to bring new solutions but rather that they are here to encourage the decision-makers to actually implement the solutions.The three-day programme features a series of main panel discussions led by sector experts, stage talks, innovation labs and over 30 interactive sessions and side events. Among the key outcomes of the event will be a joint statement referred to as the Rio Declaration, presenting action items and commitments to advance the agenda and investment in non-formal education.
“Non-formal education is a powerful force for empowering young people to become active citizens and create social impact towards sustainable development. The next three days will bring key actors on board to drive more recognition and investments in non-formal education and allow us the opportunity to collaborate internationally and form successful partnerships,” said Pia Melin Mortensen, Member of the World Scout Committee and Chair of the World Non-Formal Education planning team.The event is also providing a platform for alliances of youth orgnaisations to convene their annu
Welcome to #NFEforum LiveArticle Source: https://worldnfeforum.com/largest-specialized-world-forum-on-non-formal-education-kicks-off-in-rio-de-janeiro/ Highlights: https://worldnfeforum.com/highlights-of-the-day/ © Enrique Leon / World Scouting
President of the United Nations General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa listened to the youth activists’ appeals and said that “young people need support as agents of change” and that “young people help to reform the UN.”The participants actively shared critical thoughts on the status quo of the actions taken and changes made about the resolutions for youth. Discussing what still needs to be improved in terms of including youth in the peace process, the young peacebuilders presented recommendations for the policy change and how they can contribute.
“Let us say enough to the misconceptions that have allowed young people’s capabilities and capacities for peacebuilding and sustaining peace to go unrecognized and undervalued,” said Wickramanayake.Under the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the governments of Qatar and Colombia, the event was organized by the UNSG’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake and Search for Common Ground in partnership with the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY).
“Build frameworks to engage youth in the way society is ruled and run. Inclusion is the name of the game,” said Colombian Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo of Foreign Affairs at the symposium.This symposium brought in lots of positive energy and strengthened bridges between the aspiring young leaders and the world leaders from different sectors and from different parts of the world. BKMC CEO Froehler expressed that lots of enthusiasm was evident during the symposium for “shining a light on youth participation in peace processes.”
Froehler emphasized that “the light gets stronger when we are shining together.”Watch the livestreamed video of the symposium here: https://formin.videosync.fi/youth-participation-in-peace-processes Photo by: Nikke Puskala
Watch Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayake’s speech at the UNSC 2018 here. Source: https://www.youth4peace.info Photo: UN Photo by Mark Garten
- Support, recognize, fund, scale up, and protect the peacebuilding of young people.
- Prioritize political participation for young people to be fully engaged.
- Partner to continue efforts and promote the youth’s activities.