BANGKOK, Aug. 6
SHAILESH PALEKAR
UPI Correspondent
Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham called on Asia's youth to assume the mantle of leadership and foster sustainable, peaceful and harmonious societies, at the International Youth Leadership Conference in Bangkok last week. The conference theme was developing youth networks for peace and achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.
In his keynote address at the U.N Conference Center Wattanasiritham told the gathering of some 150 young leaders, "Thailand's principle of national reconciliation and national peace can be introduced to motivate youths to become leading actors in fostering regional peace that can be leveraged into world peace." He emphasized human rights, human dignity, the expansion of opportunities for low-income families, social cohesion, and the development of rural communities as potential areas where youths could play a role.
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin urged youth leaders to become courageous peacemakers. "The world needs you, your friends and the community to refuse to see another day where another person dies because of broken promises," he said.
The conference for the Asian region, sponsored by the Youth Federation for World Peace and co-hosted by the International Cultural and Educational Foundation and the Thailand Chapter of the Universal Peace Federation, was the first large-scale initiative to seriously scrutinize the progress of the U.N Millennium Development Goals and reflect on the role young people could play in pursuing them.
It also highlighted human values that are essential components of peace -- strong family ties; the concept of true love; harmony and co-operation that go beyond barriers; and three fundamental dimensions of peace -- personal peace, interpersonal peace and societal peace.
ICEF founder Christopher Kim stressed the need for global communities to ensure that young people are prepared to compete in the modern global arena, to be responsible for the use of resources and to lead productive lives, embody good citizenship and build healthy societies. Strategies and a framework for action are urgently required to harness the passion and energy of youth toward a commitment to sustainable development, he said.
Professor Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, senior fellow at Harvard University's Center for Business and Government, called on the Thai government to support "social entrepreneurship." This would mean supporting coalitions of individuals and civic organizations that could help combat various economic and social ills. While such entrepreneurial programs are firmly embedded in the curriculum of many internationally renowned universities such as Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, their progress in Asia has been slow, the professor said. Western countries tend to have strong civic networks that support social work, while Asia has lagged behind in encouraging volunteerism and financial contributions to social causes.
A new concept introduced by Charles Phillips, international president of Service for Peace, was "networlding," which he described as extending local social networks to the global arena. This creates opportunities and mutually beneficial relationships for all participants, based on common values that include sharing resources and extending help to one another. He encouraged the young leaders to forge long-term relationships, beginning their networlding at the conference. He also asked them to seek ways to advance the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. "Don't think of the U.N. as being made up of diplomats. Take ownership of the U.N.," he told the gathering.
In 2000, the United Nations set up eight goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators as a strategy for eliminating world poverty and hunger by 2015. Though these are not legally enforceable, all 189 member nations that signed the document have a moral obligation to advance its goals.
Minar Pimple, deputy director of the U.N. Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific, said he had embarked on an awareness drive, urging youths to stand up to their governments and demand that they fulfill their roles in eradicating poverty. He said 980 million people in the world live on less than US$1 per day, and 10 million children die before the age of five due to disease, hunger and malnutrition.
Pimple said that youth organizations should question their governments' accountability and transparency on development issues. "Ask who is controlling the resources and who is benefiting -- that is the key," he said.
Prior to the conference, the sponsors held workshops on how to develop networks of youth leaders and youth workers for peace. The Youth Ambassadors for Peace movement, the brainchild of Hyun Jin Moon, president of YFWP, strives to raise the voice of young people in demanding solutions for such intractable problems as the division of the Korean peninsula, troubles in the Middle East, and meeting the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
The workshop was attended by leaders of affiliated organizations and chapters throughout Asia, including Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Leonard Faustino, 18, from the Philippines was one of the youngest participants. An expert in computers, he gave up a bright academic opportunity and scholarship from the Bill Gates Foundation to serve the poor and marginalized communities in his country. "I have taken a big risk in giving up the scholarship that many can only dream of," he said. "But this is my priority, and I believe that the spiritual realizations and peace I find in this work will open up possibilities in every aspect of my life."
