National Youth Rights Mega Meet concludes

KATHMANDU: The 7th Nepal Youth Rights Mega Meet, held in Kathmandu on the occasion of International Youth Day, on Wednesday, presented a 12-point demand to the government, calling for greater youth representation, increased investment in education and creation of decent employment opportunities.

The three-day gathering, which began on Monday, brought together around 300 youth representatives, including lawmakers and academics, from across the country. More than 40 organizations collaborated in organizing the event under the coordination of Youth Advocacy Nepal.

According to Naren Khatwada, adviser to Youth Advocacy Nepal, the demands were prepared based on recommendations that emerged from policy discussions and panel sessions held during the event.

The mega meet has called for meaningful and transformative representation of young people at all levels of the state in proportion to their share of the population. It also demanded that the government allocate 20% of the national budget to public education to make it inclusive, quality-oriented, productive and creative.

Likewise, it called for the creation of decent jobs and self-employment opportunities within Nepal, particularly in agriculture, industry, tourism and information technology. It also urged the government to develop modern industrial policies and laws and make foreign employment safer and more systematic.

The youth representatives demanded guaranteed access to basic health services and special policies, programs and budgetary provisions to address mental health problems among young people.

They also called for climate justice, particularly policies and budgetary measures, to reduce the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women and marginalized communities.

The gathering also demanded legal mechanisms to regulate the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence. It also urged the government to protect and promote participatory democracy, freedom of expression, and the rights to form organizations and hold assemblies and conferences.

Similarly, it called for amendments to the Statistics Act, or enactment of a new law, to give legal recognition to citizen-generated data.

The mega meet demanded concrete policies and budgetary provisions to eliminate class-, caste- and gender-based discrimination, violence and untouchability among young people, and called for a special law to protect young people working in the informal sector by guaranteeing social security, fair wages and protection against workplace violence.

The youth representatives further demanded the establishment of youth-focused accountability mechanisms from the local to federal levels to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of youth-related plans and programs.

The event was organized in collaboration with the National Youth Council, Nepal Mahila Ekta Samaj, VSO Nepal, ActionAid Nepal, NGO Federation Nepal, National Campaign for Education, YNPD, WOREC and other organizations.