“It’s a dream to be here,” Carme Morales, 11, tells Nerea Mir, 12, as they sit in the “number three building” of the United Nations at the Quart de Poblet base, Valencia, on the occasion of of its inauguration.
They are friends and classmates from the Rafael Mateu Cámara public school in Valencia. This morning the two of them put a bottle of water and their notebook in their backpack to meet Atul Khare, the UN Assistant Secretary General for Operational Support, who provides vital logistical support to the peacekeeping operations that United Nations have deployed in different parts of the world.
The Junior Ambassador Program is part of the United Nations Information and Communications Technology Service Outreach Plan. It has been active for seven years and brings together 18 Secondary Schools in Valencia.
Thanks to the initiative, young people from different centers discuss and implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The fight against climate change, inequality or human rights” are the values that Lucia Botella, coordinator of the network of young Ambassadors, promotes among project participants.
“For them it is an activity that motivates them and helps us raise awareness,” he explains together with Lino Puertas and Magdalegna Canoura, promoters of the project at the UN Base in Valencia.
In the second row, Carme and Nerea are nervous, Carme has to ask and she has been practicing all day. Nerea squeezes a sticker of the soccer team.
“We only have one planet and that is why I believe that respect is the basis of everything. If we respected each other more, we could meet the Sustainable Development Goals on time”, explain the two friends minutes before the meeting begins.
Meeting of Junior Ambassadors in Valencia, Spain.
Global goals, local solutions
The 19 young people, no more than 17 years old, attend the meeting with the UN in Valencia convinced that they want to change and improve their community. But to raise awareness about inequality or climate change they need the support of adults, so they take advantage of the appointment to ask the Assistant Secretary General for more resources and investment that will allow them to attend activities, events or meetings.
“Ask why! And keep asking why the why of what happens; the why of everything!”advises Atul Khare. Carme and Nerea agree.
“When I see the war in Ukraine it affects me. I realize how lucky we are”, says Carme. The two friends have not stopped looking for an answer to the conflicts. “I go to a public school where there are many religions, my friend is Muslim,” adds Carme.
Spaces to express yourself
The Youth Ambassadors project was created as a discussion forum for young people to share their concerns. “The United Nations wants to hear what you young people have to say” and “grow the future leaders of the worldinsisted Atul Khare.
In addition to attending the meeting, the 19 young people had the opportunity to meet with the rest of the local and national administrations such as the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig. They also attended the speeches and meetings that were held on the occasion of the inauguration of the new UN facilities in Valencia.
Before leaving, Carme and Nerea talk about their projects at school and their friends. The nerves are gone. Carme wants to study graphic design or journalism, “who knows”. Nerea would like to be a teacher.
Next year they will change centers and want to continue with the workshops on the Sustainable Development Goals that the United Nations network of ambassadors have been facilitating for seven years now in the Valencian Community, Spain.
