Cambodia Youth in Actions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Open Development Cambodia (ODC) was invited to participate in the Cambodia Youth in Actions for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a Volunteer Youth Ambassador Program initiative organized in collaboration with the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC). The Volunteer Youth Ambassador Program for SDGs consists of a platform of 25 volunteer ambassadors working to enhance the opportunities for young people to raise their voices and provide an avenue for local youth through volunteerism to become direct agents of positive change on the SDGs.
The event was participated by over 40 high-level youth representatives from civil society organizations.
Hosted on October 22nd 2019, the event brought together over 40 high-level youth representatives from civil society organizations to discuss the role of youth in the 2030 Agenda. This discussion is highly relevant as Cambodia has the largest youth population in Southeast Asia, where one in three are between 15 and 29 years old. Besides, last year, the Government finalized the localization of the Cambodian Sustainable Development Goals (CSDGs) and presented the first Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the High-Level Political Forum of the United Nations.
The Cambodia Youth Dialogue of Civil Society started with the keynote speeches of Ms. Dy Sereyvoleak, representative of Volunteer Youth Ambassador Program, and Mr. Meas Kongreaksa, Volunteer Youth Ambassador. Mr. Sovanna Ry, Legal and Policy Specialist at CCC, provided an overview of the role of youths in the SDGs and opened the floor for discussion. Civil society representatives started by reviewing the strategic lines and relevant projects of their organizations. The active debate included resources assessment, mapping of activities and programs in place tackling youth, challenges to be addressed and opportunities in engaging youth.
Mr. Sovanna Ry, Legal and Policy Specialist at CCC, is presenting an overview of the role of youths in the SDGs.
ODC’s representative, Ms. Júlia G. Puig, emphasized our commitment in working under the framework of the SDGs and mentioned some of our initiatives related to youth, such as the collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) to integrate mapping activities into the high school curriculum, the Open Data Day, and trainings on evidence-based storytelling, mapping and GIS. She also highlighted ODC’s contribution to the VNR process and explained how disaggregating data, raising awareness and promoting platforms for youth is crucial for the SDGs.
