Leave No One Behind Hearings for youth 💪
on 12th and 13th April UNA Tanzania through the Tanzania Sustainable Development Platform which it convenes coordinated the National Leave No One Behind Hearings for Youth in Dar es salaam. The youth hearing was conducted in collaboration with Mulika Tanzania and Restless Development Tanzania. There were around 70 participants, among them were representatives from civil society organizations, youth with disbailities, students, youth from formal employment, informal sector and youth enterpreneurs representing youth from 6 zones in Tanzania mainlan(the lake zone, coastal zone, central zone, upper northern zone, southern zone, upper southern zone) and Zanzibar.
UNA Tanzania through the platform conducted Voluntary National Review (VNR) Consultation Sessions to all 17 Goals, currently the ongoing process is conducting Leave No One Behind Hearings to marginalized and vulnerable groups including children, people with disabilities, youth and others. The youth hearing was an opportunity for young people to come on board and state their aspirations towards the national 2023 CSOs Voluntary National Review report. The key areas of focus were; Business & Investment Environment, Skills Development, Economic Empowerment, Digital Economy, Decision Making Processes and Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR).
The hearing was particularly significant for the youth demographic, it provided a platform for them to collectively deliberate and address their aspirations upon the various challenges and issues that are relevant to their age group. By the end of the hearing a national VNR youth youth report reflecting aspirations from the 6 key areas was obtained which will also be included in the 2023 CSO VNR shadow report on a special Leave No One Behind Chapter, thereby ensuring their voices and concerns are heard.
