International Youth Day 2016 
in Darfur

The United Nations International Youth Day is held annually on the 12 of August to celebrate the achievements of youth around the world.

It focuses on the issues affecting the youth, highlights their contributions to society and encourages them to participate actively in enhancing their societies.
The global theme for the 2016 International Youth Day is:
"The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production".

As part of activities to celebrate the day, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sudan organized a series of events through its joint Youth project with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) -the Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project in four states of Darfur from 10 to 13 August 2016.

The events promoted volunteerism and examined the role of youth in combating poverty, marginalization and their particular contribution to peace and development in Darfur. It also created awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among the youth and civil society organizations.

The events brought together Youth Volunteers from the Project, youth from the local communities, students, as well as national, international organizations and the government authorities.

In Nyala, in collaboration with UNV programme, a workshop on
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was organized for 9 Youth Volunteers and 22 participants from the State Ministry of Social Affairs, Women Union, the University of Nyala, UN agencies and NGOs. Yvrdp2014

Ms. Anita Bianchi who is a UN Volunteer working with UNDP, facilitated the workshop. She said:

"All participants showed great interest and enthusiasm to know more about SDGs. One of the participants highlighted the need to promote SDGs at grassroots level and
I think that we, as UNVs, have the power to do so."

Almazoz Mohammed, a Youth Volunteer from Kubum, found the workshop very useful. "The way Anita conducted the workshop was very good and interesting. Now I am able to differentiate between SDGs and MDGs", he said.

In El Fasher, the youth day event was organized at the El Fasher University in collaboration with El Najah Organization (local youth organization), Practical Action, and the foundation Sheikh Thani Ibn Abdullah for Humanitarian Services (RAF).

The opening ceremony witnessed the attendance of representatives from key state institutions, the Private Sector and UN agencies including; Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Darfur, UNDP, UNV programme, the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), State Ministries of Finance, Youth and Sports and Social Affairs, El Fasher University, Bank of Sudan, Bank of Khartoum and Savings and Social Development bank, as well as Youth Volunteers from the Project and local youth groups.

All the guest speakers stressed the importance of the role of youth in combating poverty, conflict and promoting development in Darfur.
Government officials expressed their appreciations to the UNDP Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project and its donors; notably the Republic of Korea for their contributions and efforts towards recovery and development in Darfur. 

During the exhibition, Youth Volunteers set up a booth where they shared their volunteer experiences and promoted their work on the Project.

Dagdag village is about 15 km from El Fasher town, and currently has three youth volunteers deployed there. The community organized a festival on the occasion of International Youth Day to recognize the contributions of the Youth Volunteers to the community.
Youth Volunteers from Dagdag village and community leaders mobilized their community members and neighbouring villages to celebrate the Youth Day together.

During the festival, youth volunteers presented the project objectives and their achievements to the community members.  

Maha Abaker, a Youth Volunteer from Dagdag village said:
"This youth day festival is the first of kind to be organized in our community.
We aim to promote volunteerism among the community and to use it to unite all the youth in and around our villages."

The community leaders presented awards to the youth volunteers in recognition of their hard work, dedication and efforts to support Dagdag village.

As a result of this Youth Day festival, in cooperation with the community leaders, Youth Volunteers established community-based volunteer associations known as Dagdag Charity Association and one Student Association.
Many young people from Dagdag village and nearby villages have already registered to join the two associations.

In Geneina and Zalingei, the Youth Volunteers organized workshops on
the role of the youth in poverty reduction and community peace-building.
The youth volunteers, local youth, students and representatives of the State Ministries discussed and exchanged ideas on the two topics with respect to volunteerism and the issues in Darfur.

In addition, in order to raise awareness of environmental protection and management, a tree planting exercise was carried out in Geneina.
Youth volunteers from the Project and from the local communities planted
25 trees inside the Geneina University.

The Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project is made possible thanks to the generous financial contributions of the Republic of Korea and the support of the Government of Sudan. The project is jointly being implemented by UNDP and UNV in Sudan.

For more information, please contact: 

John Anodam, Programme Manager, UNDP Darfur Livelihoods and Recovery Programme, UNDP in Sudan john.anodam@undp.org

Or please see our photo story:
UNDP Sudan Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project -Phase I

Edited by Hiromi Amano, Youth and Livelihoods officer,
UNDP Darfur Livelihoods and Recovery Programme, UNDP in Sudan