BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 18. Children and youth are the most affected by the current global housing crisis, Jonathan Ricky, a member of the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board and Executive Director of the "Young Africans for a Sustainable Africa" organization, told Trend on the sidelines of WUF13.
He first expressed his gratitude to UN-Habitat, the Human Settlements Programme, and the Government of Azerbaijan for creating this magnificent platform:
"Special importance must be given to providing speaking platforms for children and youth. Young people want discussions to result in practical steps. Their non-participation in core decision-making creates serious problems.
We want young people to exchange ideas with ministers and decision-makers, and to establish a sustainable dialogue with them. The future belongs to children and youth, and leaders must pay special attention to these matters.
The implementation of child-oriented and youth-oriented plans is vital. Existing barriers must be removed. One of our recommendations, based on the Baku Call to Action, is that the views and decisions of youth and children be adequately taken into account in urban planning. At the same time, we advocate for the further strengthening of policies initiated and led by youth," he noted.
