A Nigerian Advocate’s Guide to Getting Things Done at the UN General Assembly
My UN General Assembly Experience: A Dream Come True
By Tariah Adams, Communication and Advocacy Officer, WRA Nigeria
I had the honor to share best practices and experiences in citizens’ engagement during last year’s UN General Assembly. As White Ribbon Alliance representatives and other reproductive and maternal health advocates prepare for UNGA 73, I wanted to share what I learned on what it takes to make an impact at the United Nations.
My journey to participate at the 72nd UN General Assembly can only be described as a dream come true. As a young girl of 15 growing up in Nigeria, I believed my voice should count on issues that affected me, and I had written in my diary that someday I would attend the UN General Assembly to speak on issues that affected me and my community. Although I had no idea how I would get there, my passion and belief that my voice and the voices of others like me mattered spurred me to become the speaker of the Ijaw Female Student Union at university, an on-air personality bringing the voices of girls and women to the public space on “girls talk” and, ultimately, my journey to maternal health, speaking up for the rights of women and children and creating opportunities for their voices to be heard with WRA Nigeria.
Getting Set for UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is a forum where all 193-member states come together in New York City to work together and make decisions on a wide array of international issues covered by the UN Charter, such as development, peace and security, and international law. The decisions made at this event — and the many ancillary events held and attended by global partners like White Ribbon Alliance and other stakeholders — are far reaching. I was invited to the 72nd UNGA to share the WRA Nigeria experience and our results in engaging youth and adolescents for improved reproductive health in Nigeria.
To prepare for this role, I had a meeting with a few of WRA Nigeria’s youth activists to get their opinions and perspectives on the role of young people to drive change and be meaningfully involved in the decision-making processes affecting their lives. Interestingly, most young people felt neglected around issues of national development. They felt their voices did not matter and wanted a space where they could be engaged on issues and to bring about meaningful change. Armed with feedback from the group sessions and personal experiences, I went to the UN General Assembly with these objectives:
· To present the voices and perspectives of young people in Nigeria on Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health.
· To advocate for improved engagement for young people.
· Share WRA Nigeria’s experience working with young people in holding their leaders accountable.
· To engage young people from other parts of the world to learn about strategies that work to engage their governments to bring about meaningful change in their communities.
The 72nd UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2017
As expected, my time at the UN General Assembly was fully packed with numerous activities. I attended various side events like the Social Good Summit, the Global Citizen Festival, and the launch of the Independent Accountability Panel report, amongst others. Picking a favorite moment or event remains difficult but I will settle for a few that were inspirational to my vision and beliefs.
If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far go together.
The Global Citizen Festival started on a poignant note. It was a session that promoted the gains of partnership and was particularly inspiring because it brought together the perspective of global health leaders and organizations such as World Vision, Save the Children, ONE, UNICEF, United Nations Foundation, and more. I was fortunate to hear speakers such as Joanna Roper (UK special envoy for gender equality), Sophia Trudeau (wife of the 23rd and current Prime Minister of Canada), Roland Lescure (Member of the National Assembly of France for the First Overseas Constituency), Lorella Praali (Director of immigration policy and campaigns at the American Civil Liberties Union), and Muzoon Al-Mellehan (UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador) share stories on refusing to accept the status quo of inequality, poverty,and injustice. Their choice to use their voices to stand up against those that want to separate us reminded me that no matter who you are or what you do, your voice can count, your voice can change the narrative, and that every single one of us has a responsibility to do our part in ensuring that our voices count to make our communities better.
I was excited about the launch of the International Accountability Panel (IAP) report. Every young person should read about the report. It takes a look at the challenges of young people accessing health care and provides clear recommendations to accelerate progress. While I commend the launch of the report, it would have been great to see more young people featured in the panel discussions and listen to their perspective on its findings.
I must reiterate that there is need to increase the inclusion of young people in the planning and implementation of all global reports such as the IAP’s. Young people advocate, they speak up, they use technology and they refuse to accept the status quo. Young people are redefining the routine simply by saying no and reinventing the direction for the future. There is potential in young people, and it is only through their combination of passion, zeal, energy and knowledge that we can accelerate growth and ensure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved.
At UNGA, I had the chance to engage youth leaders from many other countries. Listening to their stories of challenges, growth and making change happen in their communities made me realize that UNGA can be many things to many people. For me, UNGA was not just the gathering of 193-member states. It was the gathering of ordinary people across the world who are making change happen in their communities. UNGA, I realized, is a platform for uniting young voices on issues that drive our desired change globally; this can be done in partnership and learning from best practices of “what works” around the globe.
The UN General Assembly is a sea of activity that is easy to get lost in and, as I left New York for Nigeria, many thoughts flooded my mind. In Nigeria, youths form the largest demographic group, accounting for about 50% of our population. This means that the future is here, and to succeed we must ensure the deliberate inclusion and increase of youth engagement and participation in every sector, starting with our voices being heard on issues affecting us. But the most prominent and awe-inspiring thought was the realization that being at UNGA makes me part of a global community of change makers whose voices count in the direction of our future.
Back in Nigeria, I remain steadfast in my commitment to engaging young people by lending my voice and that of my organization to call for inclusion of citizens and young people in the decision-making process in Nigeria.
UNGA 73 is soon upon us. As civil society, government agencies and big corporations begin to make plans to be represented, I urge them all to increase youth representation to the global stage because, more than ever before, our voices matter in affairs crucial to development and the future.
Tariah Adams leads communications for White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria (WRA Nigeria) where they work to engage citizens, business leaders, CSOs, media and the government around Adolescent, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCAH) in Nigeria. WRA Nigeria is implementing a three-year project on citizen-led accountability for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) services in Niger State, Nigeria. They believe every woman has the right to a safe pregnancy and childbirth. To achieve this WRA Nigeria mobilizes and amplifies citizens’ perspectives on issues concerning their rights and health through citizens’ engagement with Government, resulting in improved responsiveness to the health needs of the community.
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