Polemics Rec. | Working as a UN Youth Delegate with Markus Wane - S03E03

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of "Polemics Rep". This is the student-led podcast of the Tecumatical Academy of Vienna and I'm really happy to host you today. My name is Marvin Huber, I am a Mice One student at this university and I have the great, great pleasure to talk with you about the UN system and youth engagement today. But more than that, we will be diving into what you can do to become active yourself and decurrently ongoing UN conferences you should look out for. So I'm super delighted to welcome our guest who is an activist, an advocate, a student and also working in the field himself. Welcome to the show "Marcus Wayne". Thank you Marvin, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for taking the time. As I said, you're doing a lot of things but especially you are the current Austrian UN Youth Delegate. Could you for a listen us quickly explain what the UN Youth Delegate mandate is in Austria? What does it entail and what do you get to do there? The UN Youth Delegate program has been around for 12 years in Austria and it's a program where the Austrian National Youth Council, which is the legally enshrined, the official representation of all young people that live in Austria that are below the age of 30, sends a young person to represent their interests of all young people who live in Austria at the UN level. So the Austrian National Youth Council works a lot locally, also as international cooperation and this is one aspect of the work. So there are two UN Youth Delegates, it's always a male and female position and I've served for about a year now. That's amazing and what do you get to do in your job? Then this task we on one side do lobbying for young people as I like to say, which means that we engage with for example government stakeholders like the ministries on the negotiations that they contribute to at the UN level and we propose for example specific focuses or actual wording to bring up negotiations and hope that they actually deliver on this. So this is the kind of governmental aspect but the much more pleasant I say and also maybe even more important aspect is actually working with young people. So we do a lot of consulting young people on what are their priorities, the Austrian National Youth Council bundles a lot of information and also a large network of students organizations, young people organizations all across the country. So we engage with young people on this side as well, both in terms of getting input from them but also bringing the work of the United Nations closer to their local context. So those are kind of the two aspects. One working with young people and the other one being more involved with government through which you also participate in international conferences in person. So we travel to New York for example for the UN General Assembly as part of the official delegation and are able to sometimes hold statements for Austria often lobby together with other young people who are involved in the UN system are governments but also the UN stakeholders to be more inclusive of youth but also on topics that are not maybe directly youth related to take positions that are in favor of the well-being of young people all around the world but also here in Austria. Thanks so much. That was very comprehensive. Looking at all the things you have done, the red lighten appears to be that you are really into multilateralism, international affairs and youth engagement. I wanted to ask you why you think this field is so important. What is your core motivation and what are you working towards? Thank you for that question. I think to answer it I have to reach back a little bit. So I grew up here in Vienna in the 16th district and growing up I was just able to witness a lot of cultural diversity but also a lot of inequality. So there was something that very much bothered me when I was younger and I was attempting to understand it bit by bit. Beyond that my father is also from Senegal so I always was conscious about the differences and inequalities between countries not just like within my immediate environment. And so the frustration I originally had turned into motivation when I saw that there were opportunities to engage also as a young person to do stuff locally like be in your student representation body or to actually go abroad and work on these issues yourself. So I had the pleasure of working in Senegal for over a year with an NGO through the Austrian Service abroad and I had built up this corporation there with a Senegalese NGO and this was kind of the first time that I really saw in practice how an international partnership which sounds like a bit of a buzzword sometimes really could deliver tangible results and ever since then I haven't looked back so that's why I'm very much not just interested in international corporation but also convinced that it can be very useful. Reason why I'm now interested beyond the international corporations in the multilateral system is because just being on the ground working with people you quickly realize that there are systemic issues that really affect the work you do locally that's why it becomes very interesting especially for young person, the student to think more deeply about these issues. When I think about what you're about to do which is a summer tour around Austria so really getting all of Austrian youth involved beyond just the capital it comes to mind that there must be a lot of demands that young people give to you. What do you then do with these demands, these ideas, these different visions of how our future should look like and especially I think in this geopolitical context with peace and security being an ever increasing important topic is there something that you are currently working on or have done in this regard? Yes definitely so the demands the also visions for the future of young people that they communicate to us we collect them sometimes very systematically other times less so more in an anecdotal basis and we combine them with the official positions of the Austrian National Youth Council which are found by quite a elaborate process where all member organizations have the possibility to be involved and then we combine those and try to bring them into the negotiations or into kind of the advocacy that we can do at the UN level. So we really try our best to involve the demands of young people as directly as possible with respect to youth peace and security. The Austrian National Youth Council has been very active in the past year and has recently published a official position paper on youth peace and security. In broader terms that just means that it's an attempt to establish that young people are not just victims or perpetrators in acts of war but also other security issues but that they can also be partners and really contribute to a solution. So a very concrete demand on this is the implementation of a UN Security Council resolution which calls for the elaboration of national action plans on youth peace and security. So we do lobbying on this side towards the Austrian government that is one of many examples. Incredible. This is also referring to 2250 and security council has called for this but it's great to see that this is really the national follow-up procedure towards the multilateral system grades. How would you say important is it for young people to be active in this basis and the other way around how valuable is their contribution to this basis? Is it easy to lobby and how do you personally go about it? I think it's not easy to lobby just because the structures are sometimes quite rigid and the role of young people in these processes is often not clearly defined. So you could say that there are maybe cracks, you can say cracks in the system where young people then get an opportunity to lobby quite directly but I also have to say that there is an effort from certain ministries, people within the ministries to provide more space for young people to really engage more meaningfully and one very recent success that we've had I think is with respect to the World Social Summit which is an ongoing UN process that is quite significant. We were not just we were approached by the social ministry to provide our input so we had recently commented on kind of the elements papers at the first stages of the elaboration of an outcome document, a political declaration that all countries were then signed but what changes that they approached us and actually called us multiple times from multiple people to make sure that our input is also seen in the Austrian position. So why that is significant I think is that oftentimes we propose to contribute and there are interior possibilities but it's not always quite certain what is actually done with the input that we provide so when we have the situation of ministries actively approaching us to get our input, valuing it so much that even on the tight deadline they make sure that it is included. I think that's a big step towards getting also maybe a more institutionalized involvement of young people. So on one hand we have the topic specific small successes, sometimes bigger success with respect to certain negotiations but what is maybe even more important is the bigger picture so how the structures kind of change to make it commonplace that young people get to be part of these processes. And it seems like you're really on top of both of these things and lobbying to make sure that both of these get advanced. So as I hear it it comes then really down to specific wordings that you propose also to the ministries. How ready are they to take up your proposals? Is that something that often happens? Are you the experts in the room to some of the topics? Yeah. We would say that we are experts, especially on kind of the needs and also the one switches that young people have. There are many stakeholders or maybe many Yeah, there are many parties within a society that are very much well represented on a political level You can think of companies. You can think of maybe unions who have the employees interest at heart But for young people it's really difficult to have a structured way to make their voices heard in any political process Because sometimes the structures are just not given The Austin National Youth Council through it's like legally and trying mandate bundles a lot of information competence on how to engage with young people but also what young people wish for Want to do and are actively kind of shaping in Austria So therefore, I think we are experts on many issues, especially the lived experience of young people because those are the people that we Talk to very frequently Absolutely, yeah, and I think it's so so nice to hear that and then the ministry is cooperating with you institutionalizing this exchange and really taking the stuff forward So looking in the future now, what are some of the big UN conferences you think we should have on our radar screens and which Potentially passed by during a busy day to day. Yeah, so the next big UN conference that is taking place will be at the end of June in Spain Which is the fourth conference on financing for development the process behind this the negotiations have been going on for circa a year and we've been very much involved with the foreign ministry but also the Ministry of Finance and Proposing detailed commentary on each draft along the kind of negotiations towards an outcome document that everybody agrees upon So with this just like with respect to this for example, we engage on the topics of financing for peace and security initiatives But also access to financing for young people and but I think it's crucial also young people's role in monitoring and follow up and because it's Common It's a common place of contempt for young people that we talk to that they can feel like the UN makes great declarations, but there's no follow-through. There's no Mechanism of accountability. So we really want to make sure that within these negotiations steps are made to ensure that young people and their Representations be civil society be the youth councils can take part in evaluating the work of member states and of the UN With respect to the conference on financing for development another one is the word social summit which I talked about briefly Maybe just as a quick historical context. This is the second world social summit The first one was in 1995 in Copenhagen and it was a fundamental change in kind of the approach to development because it was the first largest place or conference where Members say it's globally agreed that humans are at the center of development and not just mere like economic factors So therefore we think it's a very significant process and that's why we're also glad to collaborate so well with the Ministry of Social Affairs on this Yeah, I mean, I think from the youth perspective for a student perspective It really is something positive to look forward to to have people like you in the room who hopefully bring in a meaningful Engaged perspective on on how for example the next big declaration Following Copenhagen or Adiz Abiba. I think there's something that a lot of the listeners might know and so some of their first resolutions Which really set out to to get for example the official development Assistance and aid targets on track so to have a young voice it there and bring that forward Seems absolutely important and I've also heard that you will be going to the next UN General Assembly I'm the 80th that will be this is the big and ground yearly event of the UN where all heads of states travel Will you have an opportunity to engage with them to some extent and what are your plannings for that? Yes, so you and Jay is maybe the most significant moment in the UN calendar and also for us as youth delegates and I will spend circa one month in New York Following the negotiations especially in the third committee the third committee is for humanitarian social affairs But also covers a broad range of other topics among them being youth it has been established for the past years that For many member states youth delegates will actually hold the official opening statement Which means that they get a big role to play in setting the Priorities for the negotiations that follow so I'm very glad to do this this year And I encourage everybody to check out last years in the previous years Savings by youth delegates because it's really the accumulation of speaking with young people all across Austria over an extended period of time and Getting a feel for what is important to them, but also connecting it to kind of the structural Challenges and opportunities at the UN level and at the member states level so Beyond the General negotiation that will take place there are also quite a few anniversaries that take place this year So 80 years of the United Nations But also there's an anniversary for the youth peace and security agenda So we're right now organizing with other young people to collaborate around this to make sure that there is a Specific dedicated place for youth in these negotiations, but also a place where we can freely choose Topics for side events etc and collaborate to make sure that the topics that are most important to the young people We speak to are also part of the conversation in New York and beyond that every two years a youth resolution It's negotiated and I very much look forward to also contributing to this process so all around it's going to be a very exciting time in New York and We're working hard to make sure that we manage through K devices of young Austrians and people living in Austria to this process And if you think about the shift and that has been happening throughout the last years more and more youth were able to engage at the UN level How far along would you say is using engagement in the United Nations system and given the current developments of potential Financial problems. Do you think that this might have a potential Worse impact on youth or quote unquote more marginalized or underrepresented groups in the UN system Yeah, I think it's kind of a double edge sword on one hand the Possibilities for youth engagement through kind of the leadership of Antonio Gueterre and especially the process of the summit of the future And also the pack for the future And in the past year youth engagement has been at kind of the forefront of many UN processes So the summit of the future was really maybe unique in the kind of extent to which youth but also other civil society stakeholders could be involved in shaping the process and my predecessors at the Austrian National Youth Council did great work and engaging with Like particularly this opportunity on the other hand the civic space. I think is shrinking at the UN level These that is the kind of impression I get from speaking to civil society representatives here in Austria at the UN But also recently in New York in April Therefore, I think it's very important that like these young people are on one hand coordinated because there are simply a lot of Issues that relate to young people across national borders But also that we are very focused in our advocacy which can be difficult. There are so many interesting processes to engage with But I think it's yeah just important to kind of bundle strength and advocacy efforts around core issues Because that's how we might be able to still make a change even within sort of shrinking civil space and the financial situation of the United Nations and the liquidity crisis definitely play a big role in that but also Maybe yeah economic circumstances for member states make a big difference on how much they are willing to involve stakeholders in their countries beyond just their government representatives Yeah, I think the strive of young generation actually leads them to become more and more experts more and more Driven in a field and thus so many different young people bring so many different interests also to these negotiation rooms You have already talked about the summit of the future which I think a lot of us followed it was something where security counts Reform to some extent was promised and where the big outcomes of materialism should be shown a big UN reform process So to say and now with the 18th anniversary of the UN and we again hear the same voices People saying okay, it's time for another reform process and do you think that this reform Nature will ever come to a close or is that that constant in the UN and I guess the other thing What were you excited to see in the summit of the future outcomes and are you able to take this forward? Yeah, so maybe starting with what I was excited to see I think just strong commitments to youth peace and security and The pact for the future but also to meaningful youth engagement both internationally but also Locally where the most important things for us as youth delegates beyond that. I think the process was kind of in unique in the fact that it acknowledged also the interests of future generations which might sound a bit abstract when you first hear it But I think more practically can be broken down to just making political considerations that are sustainable and will also be in the interest of people that are yet to be born meaning that they Yeah, make calculations for the long run then with respect to the reform processes that you talked about I also I also think it can be sometimes a bit confusing to mix and match between the commitment to reform in the pack for the future, but now with UN 80, especially as this is kind of diamically evolving. That's why we are more focused, I guess, on the implementation of these reforms than just formulating, you know, at the moment. So we try to kind of center our work also around the implementation of the pack for the future because young people were so involved in elaborating it. And also recently engaged with the stakeholders at the Secretariat in New York to learn more about how this process is structured on their end. So they have working groups between UN institutions but also trying to involve member states on the implementation of specific aspects. And we, of course, tried to get young people involved there as well and a big support in that. Great ally is, of course, the UN Youth Office, which really bundles also the competency on young people within the UN system. So whether it is the nature of the UN to keep on calling for reform, I'm not quite sure. But what I'm certain about is that young people are very much interested in seeing reform being implemented as soon as possible. Yeah, and I think they mentioned focus on future generations with the new and void for future generations is an absolutely fascinating place to start. Bringing that back to the local level though, my question to you now would be, how can young people get involved? How would our listeners be able to also go to UN premises or lobby for their concerns and ideas? Do you have practical examples on how to make this possible or initiatives that you can recommend? Yeah, yeah. So there are multiple avenues to engage with the UN system. There is one way which we're always happy to engage with the Austrian National Youth Council because we try to carry young people's interest forward and also get young people involved in the UN's work. There's possibilities to engage directly with UN agency and UN organizations. A good example for it is that is the food and agriculture organization, which has a new initiative to involve young people where there are, for example, national youth chapters. And there is yet to be implemented here in Austria so that could be kind of a leadership role that a young person could take. On the other hand, UNODC, which is the United Nations of organization for drugs and crime, which is headquartered here in Vienna, has multiple programs that are long term to involve young people in their work, to kind of shape the programmatic aspects of what they do. Beyond that, there's also UNODA, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, where there are also, I think, four different youth engagement programs where young people also concretely contribute to, on the content side, to the work of UNODA. So the opportunities that are kind of multi-fold, what young people can also do is engage with, for example, ecosoc, accredited organizations and NGOs and be part of civil society delegations to UN conferences. I think it's often underrated how much impact you can have through organizing a side event, creating a discussion on a topic that is maybe not mentioned in the main negotiations, because it can affect people within the UN system, but also within your national delegations or within civil society to valley around a certain issue that you have a shared interest in. That's incredible. Thanks so much. I think, and I truly hope that a lot of our listeners will pick this up. Is there a central way on how to get an overview of many of these things? I think the best opportunity is, if you follow us on Instagram, we regularly share opportunities to engage with the UN system and also make calls for input from young people all across Austria to engage directly with us. Thank you so much, Markus, for joining us today on this episode. It has been extremely insightful for me personally, but I think also for all of the listeners who have the pleasure to enjoy it a bit later. This was another episode of Polymix Rap. Thank you for joining us, and I hope you tune in very soon again. Thank you. Bye, Oda.