25 April 2023, New York - Mr. Abba Ali Yarima Mustapha represented STRIVE Juvenile during the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Youth Forum.
Young people have no choice but to take on the responsibility of creating a more sustainable world. The Youth Forum provides the opportunity for young leaders from around the world to engage with government representatives, youth delegates, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders in civil society and the private sector to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The priority theme for this Forum’s session was: “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at levels”.
As a young activist within the EU Youth Sounding Board in Nigeria, Abba Ali Yarima Mustapha joined the team of STRIVE Juvenile, a EU and UNODC project designed to contribute to the prevention of recruitment and exploitation of vulnerable children by terrorist and violent extremist groups; and to build the resilience of key stakeholders - including children and their communities - against these groups. Abba’s key role in this project is focused on a youth-led Awareness Raising Campaign in Nigeria #SEETHECHILD, which aims to fuel community acceptance and contribute to reducing stigmatisation of reintegrated children in some targeted local government areas of Borno state, thereby contributing to overall reconciliation.
Abba participated in the Youth Forum’s Thematic Session on SDG 11 “Amplifying the Voices of Youth for a Sustainable Urban Future: Leading the Way to Recovery”. He spoke about the way in which violence in urban spaces affects youth and their participation in society; and his experience of Maiduguri, a city affected by the Boko haram insurgency in the lake Chad region. During his intervention, Abba insisted on the need to mobilize the youth as agents of change for peacebuilding efforts. The young activist stressed the potential of intra-community dialogue for increasing understanding of the dramatic fate of child victims of terrorist and extremist groups; and promoting their reintegration and rehabilitation within communities as a first step towards reconciliation of society as a whole.
Abba Ali Yarima said: "People make communities, communities make cities. People can never make communities if there’s no peace or social cohesion"; “We need to see young people as part of the solution, not the problem!”
More Information:
Watch the videoBuilding resilience to violent extremism through community-based dialogue - ECOSOC Youth Forum... read more
STRIVE Juvenile Indonesia dedicates a week to support the reintegration of children... read more
STRIVE Juvenile Iraq workshop to promote rehabilitation and reintegration of juveniles... read more
STRIVE Juvenile Iraq held its second National Steering Team Meeting... read more
Adoption of the 'Nigeria Call for Action' to protect children from the threat of terrorism... read more
STRIVE Juvenile Nigeria 3rd Steering Committee Meeting... read more
ToT on the treatment of children associated with terrorist and violent extremist groups... read more
STRIVE Juvenile Indonesia workshop on strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration processes... read more
Newsroom
During the Special Event, the new project STRIVE Juvenile has been presented. STRIVE Juvenile: Preventing and Responding to Violence against Children by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups is a three-year (2021-2024), EUR 5.5 million initiative by the European Union and UNODC. The project aims to partner with the selected countries, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Iraq and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the development and implementation of comprehensive national responses to prevent and counter violent extremism affecting children, in full respect of human rights, gender equality and international law... Read more
