Cultivating the Next Generation of Indigenous Leaders UN Global Indigenous Youth Caucus

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples just got kid-friendly. On May 22, Indigenous youth from around the world filled the UNICEF House for the launch of the new, adolescent-friendly version of the Declaration. The event, which took place during the twelfth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, was jointly organized by UNICEF, the secretariat of the Permanent Forum, Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, Plan International, and FIMI (Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indigenas/International Indigenous Women's Forum). It made clear that Indigenous youth are the future leaders and have a great stake in implementing the Declaration. While the empowerment and participation of Indigenous youth have been of great importance in Indigenous rights discourse for many years, the new version of the declaration is visually accessible and uses language that younger people can understand. Participation in the Caucus requires commitment and responsibility; the experience of Julius Ceasar M. Daguitan, (Igorot) from the Philippines, illustrates this. He explained, "In April, our organization, Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network, hosted Weaving Perspectives: Converging the Indigenous Youth's Initiative in advancing Indigenous Peoples' Rights, the Asia Pacific Preparatory meeting for the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. In that conference we came up with a very good declaration regarding the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and other concerns of the Indigenous youth. From the meeting our organization decided to let me attend the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to share the results of the conference and also for me to observe and learn from international mechanisms." "As Indigenous youth, [our] hopes are enormous," [Abdoulaye] says. "The adoption of the Declaration and the involvement of Indigenous youth on the global level are the key tools to involve more Indigenous [youth] in relevant issues that affect [our] communities. On the national level, the celebration of the National Indigenous Day, since 2008, is an occasion where Indigenous youth are celebrating and discussing with the government and international organizations the situation of Indigenous Peoples in Cameroon. The creation of the National Civic Service and the Youth National Commission in Cameroon also permits the implication of Indigenous youth in the public mechanism. Finally, the growing number of Indigenous students is a key note of hope," says Abdoulay