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Speech

Denmark – 1995 – I

Delegate: Ms. Binderkrantz

51. Ms. BINDERKRANTZ (Denmark), speaking as the representative of the Danish Youth Council, said that “think globally, act locally” was an appropriate guideline for action in the field of youth. It was crucial to understand that the implementation of the goals established at the World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women required local action and the development of a democratic culture.

52. Young people could play an important role in the development of such culture. Therefore, Governments must support and encourage the young people’ sown initiatives, give them free rein to form their own organizations and provide the necessary framework for different kinds of activities. Governments must also seek to involve the youth and youth organizations in decision-making, particularly in the local communities. Participation in local decisions could provide a good education for young people and serve as an efficient tool for achieving the aims of local development policies. Therefore, international organizations as well as countries in general should make the participation of youth a vital component of their development policies.

53. Young people must be educated in order to become active participants in the shaping of society. Governments should ensure that their school systems included knowledge about the structures of society and democracy and made provision for greater student participation. The non-formal education that could be obtained in non-governmental organizations was a good supplement to the education provided by the formal school system, since young people could take decisions, assume responsibility and learn how to participate in democratic processes in youth organizations. [*15*]

54. Young people must be educated as global citizens, be made aware of international issues and be involved in international decisions. The United Nations and its agencies must take initiatives to that end as they had already done in connection with the World Youth Forum scheduled for the following year. She also welcomed the fact that more countries than usual would be sending young delegates for the debate on youth scheduled to take place in plenary meetings before the end of the month. She hoped that there would be an increase in the number of countries that found it important to give young people the chance of being heard in the United Nations system, since it was crucial for the youth to be given the opportunity to participate fully in society and to ensure that the commitments made at the World Summit for Social Development led to concrete action.

UN Doc.: A/C.3/50/SR.8

Original Records

Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/50/SR.8, 12 October 1995, p. 14-15, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/denmark-1995-i/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-195301-0.

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