International Youth Day 2021

Greetings on the occasion of International Youth Day and thank you for joining this conversation.

As some of you might be aware, UN Maldives held a consultation with young people on 6 February 2021, to kick off the initial phases of developing the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework which is the roadmap for all UN efforts in the country for the next 5 years.

The key highlights and concerns of young people identified in this process included,

1. 1. Limited opportunities for employment following completion of secondary education
   2. Lack of proper protection and support in place to combat the rampant issue of substance abuse and other risky behavior amongst young people
   3. Importance of focusing on skill building and career guidance amongst young people
   4. Lack of accessible mental health support
   5. Lack of opportunities for young people to participate, take forward their ideas, creativity, and innovations
   6. Pressing issue of housing and over congestion paired with high living expenses, no rent control policy / minimum wage
   7. Lack of proactiveness in promotion of social cohesion

We listened to your concerns! Following this, we engaged the government, civil society and other actors on how the UN can best support Maldives’ road to a more inclusive and sustainable future. 

The new Cooperation Framework is now almost complete. The three priority areas of the UN to work with the Government of Maldives from 2022 – 2026 have been identified and include,  

• • Shared prosperity and inclusive human development for all
    • Diversification of the economy, diversification of livelihoods and economic opportunities, linking education and skills to the economy
    • Availability of quality social services and social protection
  • Sustainable and climate resilient environment
    • Better protection of biodiversity, more sustainable industrial production, less reliance on fossil fuels, adopting more environment-friendly lifestyles.
  • Gender-responsive, rights-based and accountable governance and justice
    • Comprehensive long-term national development planning, enhancing financial & human resources, strengthen services and accountability of national institutions, programmes and policies to address gender inequality

Through this Framework, we want to do things differently in Maldives and ensure that our actions and programmes for the next couple of years would contribute to overcome the challenges faced by young people. We are also planning to develop a UN Maldives Youth Strategy to guide us and our partners to work more meaningfully with active participation of young people. Our team thought that International Youth Day would be a good opportunity for us to keep the conversation with you going.

Without taking up much of your time, allow me to lead you into this discussion with Umar and Shah, two of UN Maldives’ very own youth members who will be moderating this conversation.