The YouthSpeak Forum, powered by AIESEC, held on the 17th of March 2015 at the Microsoft Innovation Centre, Hal-Luqa gathered Maltese locals and internationals in order to discuss the feasibility of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, predecessors to the Millenium Development Goals, which gave way to global evolutions and political shifts in governance.
“It is time to start making conversations in order to turn big dreams into concrete action.”
Mafer Castillope, MCVP, AIESEC Malta
This was the main message at the global annual event YouthSpeak Forum, aiming to spread awareness about the 17 Goals whilst giving youths a platform to speak up on their practicality, as well as a chance to turn the “big dreams” and “big promises” into practical action and steps which take in mind both the local and the global realities. During the main plenary, the delegates were given inspiring speeches on how to overcome fear, and inspire others through speaking, as well as the importance of realising oneself through volunteering opportunities and non-formal education, which can put us outside the normal comfort zone, and by challenging us can change us and our mindset.
The event however focused on three important pillars and areas of development; education, entrepreneurship and sustainability, and informed delegates of how, despite substantial global progress by international actors such as the UN, the progress necessitated requires out-of-the-box solutions and widespread commitment. The delegates were split into workshops on the three areas in order to come up with action plans fitting the local realities. These ideas varied from a newspaper called NEWschoolpaper run by children for children between the ages of 8-14, an online educational tool called iLearn spreading awareness about gender and racial discrimination, an E for E application, which would aim to connect entrepreneurs and provide them with more information for them to create a start-up and an online commerce system targeting less developed countries in need for research and development. Regarding the projects tackling sustainability the delegates came up with an application called Navigate Malta which would help in the preservation of sustainability by aiming to reduce traffic by using the digital world to connect people who want to carpool, as well as Grenville (An Hour a day keeps pollution away), a digital game for children to help them understand small things they can carry out in order to be more environmentally sustainable.
The global annual event, also part of the WeLead Conference which also grouped Maltese nationals and internationals, was effective at challenging youths to think from a global level, and to turn the universal goals, which have often been criticised for being “naively idealistic”, into a local reality.