Our Side-Event on Youth Empowerment.

On Tuesday, March 11^th, Room XXVII in Palais des Nations turned into a forum for ideas and hope.

“Youth Empowerment through Human Rights” was the headline of the Side-Event IIMA and VIDES International, with the Permanent Mission of Uruguay, organized during the 25^th session of the Human Rights Council. The event gave the floor to young people.

Co-sponsored by OHCHR and by 25 Permanent Missions, the Side-Event represented the last step on a long road: the interaction with the reality for young people; the Side-Event in June 2011 on “Young volunteers and Human Rights” and the event in June 2013 on “Youth Empowerment, which strategies?”; the ILO resolution adopted at the 101st International Labour Conference in June 2012; the Expert meeting on the human rights of youth organized by the OHCHR in July 2013; IIMA and VIDES crowd sourcing in Latin America to gather experiences directly on the field, and the meetings with several Permanent Missions in Geneva to raise awareness about youth and to promote the Side-Event and ask for sponsorship.

The Pursuit of Happiness

20th of March - Have a good Day of Happiness! 

"Happiness may have different meanings for different people.  But we can all agree that it means working to end conflict, poverty and other unfortunate conditions in which so many of our fellow human beings live. Happiness is neither a frivolity nor a luxury.  It is a deep-seated yearning shared by all members of the human family.  It should be denied to no-one and available to all”.

(From the UN Secretary-General’s Message for International Day of Happiness 2014)

Read the Message : http://www.un.org/en/events/happinessday/sgmessage.shtml

Our SIDE EVENT on the 11th of MARCH!

The opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva

On the 3^rd of March the Human Rights Council in Geneva opened its 25^th regular Session, scheduled to end on the 28^th of March. Room XX of the Palais des Nations was crowded with ambassadors, delegations, NGOs, Civil Society and numerous Press Officers for the opening four-day High-level Segment during which over 90 ministers and other senior dignitaries will address the 47-member Council on global human rights matters.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: our Side-Event to build the Future

Albania, Argentina, Austria, Burkina Faso, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Maldives, Morocco, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Holy See, Tunisia, Hungary.

These 25 Permanent Missions, along with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have now committed to co-sponsoring the Side-Event which IIMA and VIDES International are organizing, together with the Permanent Mission of Uruguay. It will take place on the 11^th of March and is entitled “Youth Empowerment through a human rights-based approach”. It has been recognised that we are the first to raise this topic.