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Cairo, Wednesday 21st March - UNFPA, ILO, UNIC, UNIDO, UNESCO, UNWomen, UNV, UNICEF, and UNDP joined their forces as parts of One UN to launch all together the World Youth Report: “Youth Employment: youth perspectives on the pursuit of decent work in changing times”.

The event, which gathered about 100 journalists, donors and partners in Al-Ahram Newspaper, started with a presentation of the Youth Report, a report largely based on an e-discussion with young people and representatives of youth-led organizations on the transition from schools and training institutions into the world of work.
It also comprised short videos, presentation of the UN projects dedicated to the well-being of young people in Egypt and live testimonials from young people on their experience with the UN, to shed light on the numerous UN programmes and initiatives.

“This experience (with UNFPA) helped me to find a job and offered me many skills I use in my everyday life” claimed Ms. Aya Gamal, young woman who volunteered in 2004 for the UNFPA supported project “Adolescents' Reproductive Health Needs in Egypt”, project implemented by EFPA (Egyptian Family Planning Association). 
Indeed, in a country where the youth makes up almost one-third of the population and represents 90% of the unemployed population, age-oriented programmes are compulsories.

UNFPA Egypt advocates for youth-friendly policies and supports young people in maintaining good Reproductive Health, through different programmes, three of which were presented to the audience during the event:

  • Y-PEER, a network of organizations working in peer education that currently involves 40 NGOs in 14 governorates and provides trainings in peer education, a tool kit containing more than 10 tools for peer education programmes and a networking opportunity.
  • The Adolescents' Reproductive Health (RH) Programme supported by UNFPA and implemented by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), aims at educating adolescents about RH, offering them guidance to utilize necessary services and raising community awareness about adolescent related issues.
  • Adolescents' Reproductive Health Needs in Egypt Programme in partnership with EFPA, which increases access to appropriate adolescent reproductive health services, awareness and information on sexual and reproductive health, and rights as well as the accessibility and utilization of services through 12 Youth-Friendly Clinics in eight governorates.

“My participation in the EFPA programme and in Y-PEER gave me communication techniques and teaches me how to give seminars or share information in my new job”, said Aya after the screening of a short movie produced by FHI and supported by UNFPA, to document EFPA Adolescent friendly services: “Our story, our dream – Egyptian Family Planning Association youth friendly clinics”. This kind of testimony reinforced the UN strong belief that empowering adolescent in this critical transitional phase of life, offering them community roles and opportunities to build their life in a safe environment is essential, and closed on a hopeful note this unique One UN event.

“Today we have the largest generation of young people the world has ever known. They are demanding their rights and a greater voice in economic and political life. We need to pull the UN system together like never before to support a new social contract of job-rich economic growth. Let us start with young people!”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon