UNODC and Caixa Seguradora Institute conclude the second edition of the Youth Ambassadors Programme

Brasilia, 30 August, 2017 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Caixa seguradora concluded on Saturday (2) in Brasilia, DF, the second edition of the Youth Ambassadors programme.

For the second year, the initiative brought together young people from 18 to 25 years with a strong role of social leadership to discuss the role of youth in the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year, the programme received more than 700 applications from various Brazilian states and regions and selected 25 young people with a clear leadership role and social activism in their communities.

The selected youth group is diverse, with the presence of cis and transgender men and women, with different religious beliefs, sexual orientation, activism roots, academic background and professional experience. In addition, young people were selected from several administrative regions of the Federal District - such as Estrutural, Gama and Ceilândia - and from Goiás.

For the 2017 edition, the programme was based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which guided the five activity modules.

At the event, participants developed strategies to act on guidelines such as gender equality, sustainability, education, poverty and creative economy. After presenting to the public their agendas of action and collaboration, they received the certificate of completion of course by the hands of UNODC representative in Brazil, Rafael Franzini.

The Youth Ambassadors training programme is an initiative created in 2016 to empower Brazilian youth and adolescents in leadership and social impact. In the last edition, 25 young people from Brasilia were trained, selected among more than one thousand subscribers. They participated, over a period of three months, in lectures, debates and practical activities on topics such as the UN system agenda, international law, entrepreneurship and human rights.

Some participants were invited to attend national and international forums and seminars, such as the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum in New York and the Seminar on Youth Policies and Inequality in Latin America in Mexico City.

Taya Carneiro, a participant in the 2016 edition, was selected by the programme to address violence and youth at the United Nations official event in celebration of International Youth Day on 12 August.

For Anna Beatriz Dimas, 22, the experience of participating in the project had direct impacts on her personal and professional life. "The programme opened my eyes to accessibility, entrepreneurship and inclusion," she said. Currently, she works in a junior company and was the only Brazilian selected for the Ship Festival, a Dutch festival of start-ups.

Between October 11 and 15, Salvador, BA will also receive the Programme. The ceremony for the presentation of participants' agendas for the Federal District and the delivery of certificates took place on Saturday (2) at the Plano Piloto Worker's Agency located at SHCS 6 10/11, in Asa Sul, Brasilia.

Contact:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) - LPOBRA

Rodrigo Araújo

(+55 61) 99847-1005

E-mail: rodrigo.araujo@unodc.org

www.unodc.org.br

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