Empowering Today’s Youth – Part 1: Stephen and Olga

“We need to look towards the youth to [carry out development projects], we need to educate the youth on how they can get involved. Because in 15 years’ time, it’s still going to be today’s young people who will be neck deep in this. They’re going to be the ones still working on it […] when we have to look back and see what happened,” said Stephen, a 16 year-old Young Delegate from Ireland.

Stephen, along with 11 other teens and young adults, was selected to represent youth at the European Development Days 2015 (EDDs). They took part in the panel: “'Millennium youth': Young people engaging in the universal sustainable development agenda 2015-2030.” Speaking alongside notable speakers, including the Prime Minister of Latvia and a Member of the European Parliament, the youth panellists shared what they would like to see achieved in the post-2015 agenda. 

Stephen has been a National Youth Representative in scouting in Ireland for the past two years because of his interest in politics and youth development. “I love public speaking and raising awareness of issues for my fellow young people,” he wrote in his profile. 

Olga, a 17 year-old Young Delegate from Latvia, was also among the youth selected to speak on the panel. She is a very active teenager: she participated in many climate change projects and is very involved in her school, as she was a member of her school parliament. She believes that through values such as patriotism, kindness and honesty society will remain cultured, leading to understanding between people. She also has a strong interest in health.

Both Stephen and Olga carried out specific development projects, focusing on aspects that they feel need to be addressed as a top priority in the post-2015 agenda. Stephen chose the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for quality education. Along with the other Irish Millennium Youth Delegates, he is carrying out non-formal workshops to educate people on development. There, they explain how youth can participate, trying to pass the message on to them to get involved and “work towards a happier, healthier, safer world”. 

Whereas Olga focused on living in peace by participating in a project integrating Russian and Latvian teenagers’. You can find out more about their projects in the video below. 

Stephen and Olga both agree that they’ve learnt a lot in taking part in this experience. Stephen now understands that it will take a real team effort to achieve the SDGs, stating “everyone has to get involved”.

Olga found this experience very interesting, because not only did she learn new things in the midst of developing her project, but she also learnt a lot at the EDDs. Going to all the panels gave her new ideas on different topics that she will then be able to share with the people in her country, to “inspire them to be more active, and to be [future] leaders.” 

Olga also noted that she will talk to her peers in Latvia about the SDGs, to educate them on the matter, in order to encourage them to be more active in terms of development. 

Both of them are very grateful for this opportunity; thanks to World Vision, they have been able to work on topics that they’re passionate about.

Read more about youth at the EDDs 2015 in:

• Blog: Empowering Today’s Youth – Part 2: Edgleison, Edgars and Maruba
• Voices & Views: Youth Working Towards a Happier, Healthier, Safer World