Youth Rights Ambassador – Batch I

During the April-June 2022 batch, the following youths were chosen

The following list contains the meetings and events each Ambassador attended and the interventions they raised:

Fithriyyah Iskandar, The Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment

1. 19-20 April 2022, 2022 Youth ECOSOC Youth Forum
  - Shared points from the AYF and Raoul Wallenberg Institute’s (RWI) Youth Recommendations for Environmental Action to create an inclusive build back after COVID-19 it’s important to “Facilitate participation of a diverse range of stakeholders in the governance of environmental rights issues by including indigenous, religious, rural, youth and LGBTQIA+ communities, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities in the policymaking process”
  - Raised how the climate crisis affects people disproportionately with the elderly, women, and young people being most affected.
  - Delivered points from Youth Collective Statement 2021 on calls for fellow youth.
2. 11 May 2022, Briefing Session of the Second Workshop: Second Iteration of the ASEAN Youth Development Index (2nd ASEAN YDI)
  - Proposed a domain relating to environmental concerns and climate change or an addition to the equality domain to include participation of young girls and women in discussions relating to environmental issues.
3. 22 May 2022, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General’s meeting with Youth Networks on the Impact of Climate Change on Young People in Indonesia
  - Shared AYF’s initiative relating to discussions on climate change from Open Spaces in 2020 and 2021, SEAYouth Festival 2021 and the Youth Collective Statement, collaboration with RWI in hosting the World Human Rights Cities Forum and Mini Fund for Youth projects.
4. 31 May 2022 ASEAN Forum on Human Rights and SDG 11
  - During the discussions on “A More Resilient Future: Imagining the Cities of Tomorrow in ASEAN”, highlighted inadequacies in city waste management systems with most still operating under open dumping systems.
5. 6-9 June 2022 First Global Meeting of National Focal Points for the Fifth Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law (Montevideo Programme V)
  - Called upon the UN Secretariat on the need to create subsections to address the humanitarian crisis created by climate change and assess the impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups as we cannot forget the human and environment relationship in formulating appropriate legislation.
  - Shared AYF and RWI’s Youth Recommendations for Environmental Action
6. 17 June 2022, Raoul Wallenberg Institute Launch of the Human Rights in the Process of National Adaptation Planning Report
  - Questioned the reason for priority of NAP analysis for least developed countries; whether the business and human rights indicators can be captured in NAP; and whether youth, indigenous people, or other marginalized groups can be involved in its development.

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Sydney Joseph Torrenueva, The Right to Participate in Political and Public life

1. 26 April 2022, EU-ASEAN Young Leaders Forum 2022
  - Raised the growing apathy amongst youth particularly those who are marginalized to participate in social issues; the evident stigma surrounding the involvement of youths in different aspects of society and governance due to their age and lack of experience; and asked how can the ASEAN-EU partnerships support youth in their initiatives and capacity building.
2. 17 June 2022, Raoul Wallenberg Institute Launch of the Human Rights in the Process of National Adaptation Planning Report
  - Asked how to encourage countries to develop a National Adaptation Planning (NAP) Report when it has a history of committing human rights abuses; and how will NAP increase youth public and political participation with regards to human rights.
3. 24 June 2022, Regional Consultation on the Declaration on Digital Transformation of Education Systems in ASEAN
  - Highlighted the inequality of digital access in the Philippines due to the lack of infrastructure that secures connectivity and the geography of the country itself. Digital Transformation must first address these barriers in order to realize its full potential in education.
  - Recommended the need for a proper digital transformation in education to consider underprivileged learners. This can be done by integrating native or mother tongue language as a medium of instruction apart from english interpretation.

Aya Huyen B. Duong, The Right to Freedom of Expression

1. 11 May 2022, Briefing Session of the Second Workshop: Second Iteration of the ASEAN Youth Development Index (2nd ASEAN YDI).
  - While discussing the domain of Health and Wellebing, highlighted a Vietnamese artist's experience who produced a music video that was requested to be taken down by the authorities as it exhibits depression and suffering of those who cannot speak up and are not listened to.
2. 31 May 2022, ASEAN Forum on Human Rights and SDG 11
  - During the discussions on “Local Governments Building the Post Pandemic world: Public Services and Human Rights Challenges”, asked one of the panelists, Kotakita, an Indonesian NGO that specializes in urban planning and citizen participation the methodologies of effectively engaging those without access to internet service or digital devices and whether those difficulties affects their chances of voicing their aspirations.
3. 24 June 2022, Regional Consultation on the Declaration on Digital Transformation of Education Systems in ASEAN
  - While in the consultation room, shared some practical experiences on how digital technologies are useful for educational purposes.