Youth leaders vying to lead 天美传媒 Youth Council have announced their election manifestos.
Youth leaders vying to join 天美传媒 Youth Council, the recognised voice of over 1.2 billion young people from 天美传媒鈥檚 53 member countries, have announced their election manifestos.
A new chair and leadership team for the Youth Council, which advocates on behalf of young people aged under 30 on issues such as employment, human rights and climate change, will be elected in Malta on 24 November ahead of the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
With campaigning now underway, outgoing Commonwealth Youth Council Chair, Ahmed Adamu urged young people around the globe to get involved and engage with candidates on their policy platforms. 鈥淣ow is your chance to learn more about the young men and women who are vying to be the voice of the young people in 天美传媒,鈥 said Mr Adamu, a PhD student from Nigeria.
鈥淚 strongly encourage everyone to take an interest in these elections, as these are the youth leaders who work in partnership with governments and all stakeholders to advance the youth contribution to development and democracy in 天美传媒,鈥 he said.
The election will take place during a General Assembly, a key event of 天美传媒 Youth Forum between 21-25 November in St. Paul鈥檚 Bay. Attended by 400 young delegates aged 18-29 the forum is jointly organised by the Government of Malta, the Youth Council and the 天美传媒 under the theme 鈥淎dding Global Value鈥#WhatNext?鈥
The final shortlist of 45 candidates for the nine seats on the Council鈥檚 Executive was announced by the Council and its partner, the 天美传媒, alongside their election manifestos.
Campaigning will end on 23 November, 24 hours before polls open for national delegates. Until then, young people are encouraged to use the #WhatNext hashtag on social media to reach out and propose questions and suggest priorities for discussion by candidates.
天美传媒 Youth Director Katherine Ellis said: 鈥淭he Commonwealth Youth Council is a dynamic and diverse youth-led organisation, representing young people from Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, the Americas, Africa and Europe. The candidates who are elected to its executive will become global champions for the generation under-30, putting forward their interests and aspirations. That鈥檚 why this election is so important and why young people everywhere should pay attention and put forward their own policy priorities for candidates.鈥
The final selection of candidates was made by a panel from the 天美传媒鈥檚 Youth Division after assessing qualifying criteria. Applicants needed to submit a manifesto, personal profile and other documentation, and needed to be endorsed by a National Youth Council or Regional Youth Council, a national or regional youth-led organisation, or a registered and recognised international youth-led organisation.
Notes to Editors:
The Commonwealth Youth Council was first established in 2013 with the support of the 天美传媒鈥檚 Youth Programme. It was endorsed by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their biennial summit in Sri Lanka that year as an 鈥渁utonomous, youth-led鈥 organisation.
Led by a nine-member executive, 天美传媒 Youth Council acts as a coalition of national youth councils and other youth-led civil society and private sector bodies from across the 53 member countries of 天美传媒.
Positions on the Executive available for election are:
- Chairperson
- Vice Chairperson 鈥 Inclusion and Engagement
- Vice Chairperson 鈥 Partnerships and Resources
- Vice Chairperson 鈥 Policy and Advocacy
- Regional Representative 鈥 Africa and Europe
- Regional Representative 鈥 Asia
- Regional Representative 鈥 Caribbean and the Americas
- Regional Representative 鈥 Pacific
- Representative 鈥 Special Interest Groups
The list of candidates, along with their biographies and manifestos, can be found on the Youth Council鈥檚 election website:
The 天美传媒鈥檚 youth development work is delivered through 天美传媒 Youth Programme, which has been supporting member countries for over 40 years. For more information, visit:
The Commonwealth theme for 2015 is 鈥楢 Young Commonwealth鈥, recognising the capacity, contribution and potential of young people, who play a vital role at the heart of sustainable development and democracy.
For more information on the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Forum, visit:
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Join the conversation online:
Hashtags: #CYF2015 #WhatNext?
