Delegates: Ms. Fiorella Spizzuoco, Mr. Pietro Fochi
68. Ms. Spizzuoco (Italy), speaking as a youth delegate, said that greater inclusiveness of young people must start immediately. Young people should tackle not just youth-related issues but any obstacles to the construction of a more sustainable and equal world. While Italy had an ageing population, it was committed to the inclusion and empowerment of youth under the Youth Delegate Programme. Governments recognized the value of young people and were eager to promote their involvement in national and international institutions. The Programme should be promoted in all countries, given that it was a unique opportunity to participate directly in the United Nations decision-making process. Youth delegates epitomized inclusion, serving as a direct link between a nation’s youth and other sectors of the population and as a bridge between young men and women from different cultural and social backgrounds. The first concern of her youth delegation was to determine ways of helping Italian and international youth to combat discrimination based on ethnicity, gender and religious belief, even among young people. In that connection, the first source of inspiration should be the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was a driver of social development and designed to leave no one behind.
69. Mr. Fochi (Italy), speaking as a youth delegate, said that the Sustainable Development Goals were indeed the core pillars of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency. A key part of his country’s commitment to social development was the protection and promotion of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities, including mental and intellectual ones. Inclusion meant fighting all forms of discrimination and must start with education. In countries where schools and universities promoted cooperation, integration and teamwork, cultural and social differences were likely to be recognized as a source of enrichment and a factor in development. It was in that spirit that Italy had submitted its candidacy to the Human Rights Council for the term 2019–2021.
70. Italy had been supporting the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and had recently allocated $500,000 for the development of a new project for promoting sustainable peace through national youth policies in the framework of the 2030 Agenda. Encouraging youth entrepreneurship would greatly foster such a link, helping young people to guarantee a more stable and sustainable future for the benefit of the society as a whole.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/73/SR.3
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/73/SR.3, 3 October 2018, p. 11, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/italy-2018/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-192021-0.