The corona crisis has turned the world upside down, including the Caribbean islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius & Saba and Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten). How will this crisis affect the future of the youth on these islands? It is important that young people make themselves heard. That is why UNICEF asked them to share their voice about #MyNewWorld.
UNICEF supports young people in the Netherlands and in the Caribbean Netherlands to let their voices be heard by politicians in The Hague and on each of the islands. Young people between the age of 13 and 18 shared their opinion on how they think the world should look like in light of the corona crisis with regard to matters of concern to them.
This is what the #MyNewWorld campaign on the islands looked like:
#MyNewWorld Aftermovie
The youngsters from all six islands participated in focus group discussions, a virtual inter-island debate session and met with their governments to discuss their advice.
“I think participating in this project was a good experience because it happens too often that people forget about our (children's) opinions. It's like if you can't vote you don't have a say.”
Ishn (14 jaar, St. Eustatius)
Check out the cool rap that Juriëlla from Bonaire made for the campaign:
UNICEF organised small group conversations on each island, where young people shared their ideas about the most urgent issues. All of this was done under the guidance of UNICEF facilitators. These young people created a UNICEF Youth Advice based on the ideas and conversations.
On Thursday, September 10th, 2020, the results of the campaign were shared with the local governments of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, State Secretary Raymond Knops, and Member of Parliament Stieneke van der Graaf. The youngsters' advice was also added to the advice from the youth from the Netherlands and handed over to Minister Hugo de Jonge (VWS). Check out the video and listen to his reaction after he attended the event in Den Haag.
On November 20th, World Children’s Day, the youngsters from all six islands participated in a virtual inter-island debate session where they practiced defending their advice. The following week, youngsters met with their governments to present and discuss their advice.
