Expert Group Meeting on Goals and Targets for the World Programme of Action for Youth: "Youth in Civil Society" and "Youth and their Well-being”. Resource persons and experts from various United Nations Agencies and Programmes, international organizations and youth representatives will meet in New York for three days from 19 to 21 May 2008.

Overview

Since the adoption of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), many Governments, international organizations and other stakeholders have embarked on taking steps to prioritize youth issues in national development strategies and programmes. In 2007, the international community acknowledged the need to adopt a set specific goals and quantifiable targets to guide the development and implementation of the fifteen priority areas of the Programme of Action. However, progress in implementation of the WPAY remains constrained by the lack of such goals and targets.

Recognizing the importance of setting goals and targets for youth development, the Commission for Social Development at its 45th session in February 2007 requested the Secretary-General, in consultation with organizations, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, to identify goals and targets regarding the WPAY covering the priority areas of globalization, employment, education and hunger and poverty clustered as “youth and the global economy”.

A set of goals and targets was developed and presented in a report to the General Assembly in October 2007. The Assembly responded by calling upon Member States to use the goals and targets at the national level as a means of facilitating the monitoring of the progress of youth in the global economy and the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth.

The Assembly further requested that the Secretary-General provide it with a report on the other priority areas clustered around “youth and civil- society” and “youth and the ir wellbeing”. The cluster “youth and civil-society” covers the WPAY priority areas of environment, leisure-time activities, youth and participation in decision-making, intergenerational issues, and information and communication technologies, and the cluster “youth and their well-being” covers health, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, juvenile justice, the situation of girls and young women, and armed conflict.

To this end, the United Nations Programme on Youth, located within the Division for Social Policy and Analysis, DESA, will hold an expert group meeting (EGM) to develop a set of goals and targets. The Assembly has also requested that this comprehensive set of goals and targets for those clusters are based on consultations with Member States as well as the organizations, programmes, regional commissions and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, young people, youth- led organizations and other nongovernmental organizations.

Resource persons and experts from various United Nations Agencies and Programmes, international organizations and youth representatives will meet in New York for three days from 19 to 21 May 2008 to deliberate on these issues. The outcome of the meeting will be a set of agreed goals and targets on the two clusters that will be incorporated in a report and presented to the 64th session of the General Assembly in September through the 47th session of the Commission for Social Development in February 2009.

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