mis eventos July 2013 Bulletin / UNDP Latin America and the Caribbean UNDP | Humanum | PNUD Latin America and the Caribbean BULLETIN July 2013 INDEX News: Young Latin Americans welcome future with optimism, but expect less corruption, poverty and violence Blog: Measuring the high expectations of Latin America’s youth by Heraldo Muñoz, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director for Latin America and the Caribbean News: Latin America seeks to address new social demands beyond poverty reduction News: UNDP Colombia honoured for work to build peace, end poverty Story: Reforestation brings life and growth to Haitian communities Young Latin Americans welcome future with optimism, but expect less corruption, poverty and violence In Spanish UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan launches RIO+ (Photo: UNDP Brazil) Young people in Latin America, Portugal and Spain are optimistic about their future—two out of three believe that in five years they will be better off than they are now—, according to the 1st Ibero-American Youth Survey (available in Spanish), presented on 22 July in Madrid. The first study ever conducted with youth in 20 countries, with over 20,000 interviews, revealed that young people aged 15-29 are more optimistic about their own capacity than their surrounding environment. The research shows that violence and insecurity are the main problems for young Latin Americans, a unanimous response in nearly all countries. Substance abuse (Brazil), unemployment (Central) or the economy (Portugal and Spain) are also among the top concerns, says the survey developed by the Organization of Ibero-American Youth with major development banks in Latin America (IDB and CAF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), among other partners (MORE) Measuring the high expectations of Latin America’s youth / by Heraldo Muñoz, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director for Latin America and the Caribbean In Spanish also published in America Economia and Revista Humanum Two thirds of young people in Latin America are more optimistic about the future than the present. (Photo: Wim Bouden/PNUD Perú) Recent demonstrations sparked by young Latin Americans urge us to understand the demands of young people, and to address lingering structural problems in our societies, especially inequality. These protests are also an opportunity to rethink democratic governance in the 21st century, in the digital age of flourishing social media activism. The increasing frequency of such mobilizations tells us that young people want to actively participate in their society’s development. The first Ibero-American Youth Survey—which we launched with the Ibero-American Youth Organization and other partners on 22 July in Madrid— shows that young people in Latin America, Portugal and Spain expect their participation to increase over the next five years. Institutions should provide formal spaces for this, or protests will become the most effective way for young people to make their voices heard. And the region would waste an opportunity to enhance the quality of its democratic governance. (More) Latin America seeks to address new social demands beyond poverty reduction In Spanish Spain’s deputy Permanent Ambassador to the UN,Gonzalez de Linares; Harvard University competitiveness expert Michael Porter; UNDP Administrator Helen Clark; UN ASG/UNDP Dir forLatin America and the Caribbean Heraldo Muñoz (Photo Dylan Lowthian/UNDP) More than 20 social development ministers from Latin America gathered at the United Nations headquarters on 11 July to discuss how to move beyond poverty reduction to further reduce inequality and address demands from the region’s rising middle class, such as better public services and more accountability. Opening the Sixth Ministerial Forum for Development, a two-day meeting organized annually by UN Development Programme (UNDP), Harvard University competitiveness expert Michael Porter, stressed that local businesses and multinational companies play a crucial role in further alleviating poverty and reducing inequality in Latin America if they offer goods and services that create profit while also boosting social and economic growth. (MORE) UNDP Colombia honoured for work to build peace, end poverty In Spanish UNDP Colombia Country Director Silvia Rucks, seen in the picture with woman in rural Colombia,Photo UNDP Colombia) United States Friends of UNDP presented its annual Julia V. Taft Award on 17 July to the UNDP Colombia Country Office in recognition of its vital work to end conflict and tackle poverty and inequality in the Latin American country. “I am proud of the work our colleagues are doing in Colombia and am delighted to see the Country Office recognized through the Julia Taft Award,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark told a reception here. “On my visit to Colombia earlier this year, I saw for myself examples of UNDP’s work at the national and local levels and was deeply impressed.” (MORE) Reforestation brings life and growth to Haitian communities In Spanish, in French Simeon Troimene poses for a portrait near by Aquin, Haiti. Simeon Troimene took part in a reforestation program organized by UNDP. (photo: UNDP Haiti) “Reforestation, that’s life. By reforesting the mountains, water sources will be protected and that will prevent landslides,” says Troimène Siméon, a member of a group of women working for the reforestation of the town of Aquin. “We had problems sending our kids to school. The reforestation project has also greatly helped us economically.” The dream of Troimène, a mother of one who sells cosmetics, is to see a very green Haiti as it once was. She grows nostalgic as she looks out at the barren
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 23:48:29 +0000
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