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Last month, NGOs accredited to UNESCO, in partnership with the Division of Human Rights of UNESCO, organised a Young Persons Forum on the theme "Women, Africa and Human Development ". The event took place over an afternoon and focused on  raising awareness amongst young people aged 15-25 years of human rights, education and culture. Over 300 people attended to share their experiences and discuss issues relating to women, Africa and human development.

Soroptimist International was very involved in the organisation and conduct of this event. It was attended by two of the SI representatives to UNESCO, Dominique Mertz and  Madeleine Gorse.

During a brief round table, three of UNESCO's sector directors or former directors, all from African countries, gave their point of view on the theme of this important meeting. There were breaks for attendees to tell their stories, short films and music.

The main topics were :

1. Education and culture
2. Access to medical care and human development : particularly illustrated by photos provided by Marie-Christine Gries de La Barbelais (SI representative) from the village of Mboro (Senegal) where a local NGO is supported by two clubs of the French Union : Paris-Neuilly and La Rochelle.
3. Violence against women
4. Income generating activities : illustrated by Dominique Mertz with photos from SI Agadir (Morocco)

Focusing on the role of education in promoting human rights and on the importance of learning about culture in order to help individuals understand each other, the young people’s forum allowed stories and lives to be shared. It was clearly demonstrated to the participants the importance of understanding one another and of using this understanding to help others, respect their rights and to campaign for the extension of rights where they are lacking.

This meeting not only demonstrated to UNESCO the huge influence of Civil Society Organisations in some of the poorest countries in the world, allowing SI to show its ability as an actor and campaigner at the community level, but also the immense passion and commitment of the young people who want to see the world changed for the better.

Ar the end of the event, 300 young people had been inspired to campaign for human rights and the rights of those who struggle to make their voices heard.