Concept Note Questions:
- How can NGOs further contribute to the work of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies? What are the most efficient modalities for NGOs to contribute to the United Nations policymaking, be recognized and be influential in these processes?
- What in your organization’s view should be done to provide better support to NGOs during the process of obtaining consultative status with ECOSOC?
- How can the participation of NGOs from developing countries and countries with economies in transition in UN’s work be increased?
- Once the consultative status is granted to organizations, how best can NGOs access the opportunities given to them to take part in UN processes?
Concept Note Link: https://indico.un.org/event/1002824/attachments/1889/7491/Concept%20Note%20ENGLISH.pdf
Key Points:
Work for the public good/better of the community
Ensuring articulation by people at the base, including children.
Civil societies can help organize children and people at the base for a viable participation.
Currently - neighborhood based units based on the SDGs/UNCRC, where children discuss the goals and act on them.
Examples:
Chetanalaya and Hyderabad city level parliaments
Provisional World Children’s Parliament facilitates this process.
This would lead to wider civic participation and allows people to dream and work with the UN to push the SDGs movement.
Other successful events:
World Health Day, hopefully Kibera as well
Consent-based/step up from simply democratic participation
Advocating on democratic participation which the UN is organizing to keep ourselves aligned.
NGOs can organize people and children at the base in viable levels, allowing them to articulate their priorities and demands for wider civic participation.
Lets them dream and work with the UN to push the SDGs movement, and the consultation and communication would blossom into this action.
Personal experiences - teamwork, accomplishments
Partnering with World Bank/UN (international organizations working together)
Speech Rough Draft
Introduction:
In the summer of 2019, my dad mentioned to me that there was a “neighborhood parliament” starting up in our community soon, and asked if I was interested to join. I was really curious and intrigued by this idea, so I decided to take a look at it. The first meeting, I arrived at a friend’s house only to see a bunch of people playing some chess. I joined in for a little bit but later on, it was time to get started with the real meeting. The meeting was a snapshot of what a real “children’s parliament” meeting would look like, including a fun icebreaker, check-in activity, and a “consent-based” decision making process. A year later, I was elected the president of my local parliament and got the opportunity to join the Provisional World Children’s Parliament for the first time. Little did I know at that time that I would become an active participant who would take up various roles in planning events to benefit the community.
Body:
A children’s parliament allows for children and adults to cooperate together in order to make a positive impact for their communities, especially based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. One thing that I believe NGOs should support therefore is to ensure articulation by not only children but also other people at the base. Children’s parliaments would lead to a wider civic participation and allow people to dream and work with the United Nations to push the SDGs movement. Currently, we’ve organized children’s parliaments at the neighborhood level in several countries around the world, and this process is facilitated by the Provisional World Children’s Parliament. For example, through the Chetanalaya organization in Delhi, children have been involved in their respective neighborhoods to take actions accordingly. In Hyderabad, the children’s parliament is prominent at the city level. The idea has also spread from India to several parts of the world, including Chile, Greece, Cameroon, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa and North Carolina, U.S.A., where I’m from. We are also raising funds right now to start a new parliament in Kibera, one of the largest slums in Kenya.
Organizing people and children in viable levels of participation is a way for NGOs to support the articulation of these people at the base. It especially will let them cooperate with the United Nations and World Bank in advocating specifically for the SDGs, whereas the consultation would develop into this action.
One of the world parliament’s events was a World Health Day celebration in early 2021, where each of our local parliaments got together in our own panel discussions to come up with recommendations regarding various aspects of health. Lots of people of different backgrounds attended the panel discussions, and we eventually summarized these recommendations in a closing presentation a couple of weeks after that. We also were able to send in these recommendations to other officials. I personally enjoyed being able to speak to many other people, including a town mayor, on the importance of health, as we came up with short-term and long-term recommendations. In addition to World Health Day, we’ve commemorated other events in the SDGs calendar, including International Peace Day and International Children’s Day, and have also achieved various accomplishments at a local scale. Although we’ve had our successes and shortcomings, every meeting and event that I participated in has helped me to develop characteristics and blossom into a leader.
Conclusion:
Organizing children’s parliaments around the world ensures that the voices of children and other people at the base could be heard. It allows people to blossom into leaders who can be influential in contributing to UN policymaking and work with various economies, and allows them to work with the UN to push the SDGs movement. Could other NGOs support in organizing other children for a good cause?
Thank you.
Global Good Will Ambassadors’ magazine.
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