Washington, D.C., December 6, 2022. The Meeting of the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), held this December 6 in a virtual format, highlighted the fundamental role of youth in the efforts for the implementation and follow-up of the political commitments adopted during the IX Summit of the Americas.

The youth of the Americas were represented by Raphaella Costa (Brazil), Carlos Alberto Gonzalez (Mexico), Juan Carlos España (Peru) and Rocío Collantes (Panama), who were in charge of presenting to government representatives of the Americas a compendium of actions developed to date and the next steps framed in the I Report on Youth Contributions of the Americas, a document that compiles and makes visible the contributions of young social leaders and entrepreneurs from the VI Young Americas Forum of the IX Summit of the Americas, organized by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT).

In their turn, each youth spokesperson emphasized their intervention in a series of contributions and results, describing them as “Follow-up Actions”; each of them linked to the documents adopted during the recent Summit and compiled in turn on the themes: Climate Change, COVID-19, Combating Corruption, Connectivity and Digital Transformation, Inclusion and Equality.

Among some of the “Follow-up Actions” presented at the Meeting, there are the three lines of action in response to the “Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas”, and focused on: (1) mental health care post Covid-19, (2) the recovery and solidarity economic reactivation, and (3) the reintegration of youth into the labor market.

In accordance with the “Regional Agenda for Digital Transformation”, certain youth groups that have committed to disseminate training campaigns on the use of technologies, the integration of technological spaces and digital literacy were mentioned as an example.

The youth also propose the implementation of transparency mechanisms in the financing of Political Parties, in order to have fairer and more reliable campaigns and electoral processes; this in response to the “Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance”.

The reduction of plastic and other sustainable actions to positively impact the planet and people are other notable Follow-up Actions that youth are promoting through the Eco-Challenge, among other initiatives, showing their commitment to “Our Sustainable Green Future”, and highlighting within it the alliance between YABT and PepsiCo to promote sustainable development.

The youth spokespersons closed their speech by highlighting their participation in the next Cities Summit of the Americas, in April 2023 in Denver, United States, reinforcing and expanding youth citizen participation in decision-making processes within the context of cities.

To access the complete speeches of youth spokespersons, enter HERE (Document in Spanish and Portuguese only)

The full Report is available HERE (Document in Spanish only)

To explore a partnership with YABT to support and invest in youth development, contact us now via info@yabt.net