UNITAR Hiroshima Youth Ambassadors 2019
The UNITAR Hiroshima Youth Ambassador Programme Japan is a core part of the UNITAR Hiroshima Office's community-based efforts. Around 20 students are selected each year from local high schools in Hiroshima.
The UNITAR Youth Programme Japan aims to deepen the student's understanding of global issues and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), equip them with the skills of initiating and driving their projects, and allow them to connect globally with international experts and other young activists. Enhancing future career opportunities and empowering the YAs with the abilities to create a better world as actors on the global stage is the goal of this programme.
The Youth Ambassador Programme started in 2010. The Programme offers an opportunity for the Hiroshima youth to develop a unique insight into global affairs and engage with the international community. Every cycle in the past 11 years, the programme content has varied depending on the social context and learning needs of the year. The UNITAR Hiroshima Office, the only United Nations agency in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, positions this Youth Ambassador Programme as one of its most important commitments to the local community and its people.
Since 2020, the Youth Ambassador Programme has become a joint programme with UNITAR Association.
UNITAR would like to thank the following municipalities and organizations for their support of the Youth Ambassador Programme:
- Hiroshima Prefecture
- International Soroptimist Hiroshima Central
2021 UNITAR Youth Ambassador Programme
2021 UNITAR Youth Ambassadors in Hiroshima
With the ever-increasing pace of globalization, the world is becoming more complex day by day. We are facing many challenges, such as climate change, financial crisis, and even a pandemic, on a scale that humankind has not yet faced before.
The Youth Ambassador Programme offers an opportunity for young people of Hiroshima to develop unique insights into global affairs and engage with the international community.
In 2021, the world was facing a major challenge – the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected people's livelihoods in almost all corners of the world. Social practices, business structures, and communication modalities have been forced to adapt rapidly. To cope with new global challenges as such, young advocates need to strengthen their capabilities, reinforce their voices and increase the reach and impact of global youth movements which they are building.
2020 UNITAR Youth Ambassador Programme
2020 Hiroshima Youth Ambassadors
The Programme took place between 25 July to 24 October 2020 online. It consisted of five workshops and a final debriefing session. UNITAR offered customised training in line with the current COVID-19 situations. Both Self-paced training and Live-online training provided the necessary knowledge and skills for accelerating the achievement of SDGs. Each student group developed an action plan for one target of SDG: Goal 1 (No poverty), Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 13 (Climate change), or Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institute).
Overall, the methodology includes the following components:
- EdApp courses – overview of UN, SDGs, Goal 1, 4, 13, 16
- Interactive workshops with experts
- SDGs project’s design
- Group Discussions, interim presentations, and peer-review
- Coaching and mentoring
- Project Presentations
- Exchange sessions with Youth Ambassador Hong Kong
The university students Groups (UNISC) mentored the students and support their project developments.
In addition, the Youth Ambassadors had the opportunity to interact with an alumnus who had participated in the UNITAR training project “UNITAR Iraq Entrepreneurship For Youth 2019” implemented by UNITAR Hiroshima Office.
The Iraqi alumnus offered the presentation related to Iraqi culture and the conditions in Iraq related to SDG 1, 4, 13, and 16.
Through this joint session, the Youth Ambassadors exchanged various opinions about SDGs with the alumnus from Iraq, gained new perspectives, broadened their cultural perspective, and deepened friendship with the alumnus.
On 24 October, UN day, the students had an opportunity to share their project plans with the public to share their projects. 51 audience were impressed with the quality of the Youth Ambassador's project plans and understood the power of youth.
