Within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), the main idea during the youth assemblies was not only to include young people in discussions, but also to build the discussions directly around youth-centered approaches, Joshua Fortedur, representative of the Youth Advisory Board of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), said at the “Children and Youth Group” event held within the framework of WUF13, APA-Economics reports.
He noted that young people should also be involved in all stages of discussions and the decision-making process:
“Very often, consultations are first held with young people and their opinions are taken, but the final decisions are still made behind closed doors. As a result, the process can go in a completely different direction. But we have repeatedly demonstrated, and you have heard this over the past few days as well, that young people who directly experience these problems understand the situation very well. We know what we face on a daily basis. We are already actively developing solutions. If we want to see a developing, successful and fair future, then the full participation of young people from the beginning to the end of the process will be decisive. This is important both for individual well-being, success, development, and for the future of our communities as a whole.”
