The Global Youth Advisory Panel was established at the request of the Executive Director, Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid as a mechanism for UNFPA to dialogue with youth organizations and networks and to seektheir advice on strategic actions to better address the needs of young people.

The Panel helps ensure that UNFPA’s global, regional and national initiatives are youth‐friendly and adequately address young people’s concerns, particularly regarding their sexual and reproductive lives, HIV/AIDS and gender issues.

The objectives of the GYAP include:

• To act as a mechanism for open dialogue and exchange between UNFPA and young people to advise UNFPA on adolescent and youth issues.

• To continue to develop support and commitment to young people's empowerment, rights, including their rights to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

• To create a forum for discussion and dialogue between the young people and the UNFPA which will lead to concrete recommendations and follow up actions needed to strengthen our work with and for young people across all aspects of our mandate.

The GYAP was established in 2004 and since then meetings have been held each year. In between meetings, panel members work through an online discussion forum to provide their youth inputs into UNFPA ongoing work.

The membership of the Global YAP includes 21 young people (ages 15‐24) from all geographical regions and various international youth networks and organisations from around the world. Members are invited from all regions in which UNFPA offices work, from international youth organizations and from specific vulnerable youth populations to ensure that their concerns and voices are reflected in the discussions of the panel.

This year, the panel will meet at UNFPA Headquarters from 4‐6 November and will discuss the role of UNFPA in the upcoming World Youth Conference to be held in Mexico in August 2010, the launch of the youth participation guide and external evaluation of the panel, amongst other issues determined by the

Steering Committee of the GYAP.

The Global Youth Advisory Panel is coordinated by the Adolescent and Youth Cluster (AYC) in the reproductive Health Branch of the Technical Division. For more information, please visit www.unfpa.org/adolescents or contact Mr. Prateek Awasthi ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Version: September 2009

Full article: http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/events/2009/gyap_09.pdf