In September 2020, all member states of the United Nations will come together, as they do every year, to work through issues of international importance. And COVID-19, and recovery and rebuilding, will be a core focus.
The voices of young people, and particularly girls, was included in these discussions.
Our pre-COVID-19 world undeniably failed girls and young women, in all their diversities. It failed to protect them, empower them, and it failed to listen to them. These failures have been exacerbated by the pandemic – with girls being removed from school, experiencing widening inequality, weaknesses in health, welfare and education systems and heightened levels of violence and child marriage.
Youth in Australia and Vietnam have conducted research that shows young people, particularly girls and young women, are hearing, seeing and experiencing these challenges.
But their research also shows that young people know what a better world looks like. And they know a better world is possible.
What are girls’ visions for a better normal?
A group of 22 young women in Australia and Vietnam led a research project to answer this question – with engagement from 1,325 girls in 99 countries.
This year, our Youth Activist Series (YAS) is supported by The Body Shop Australia to help launch the inspiring visions of Australia’s future leaders and change-makers.
Girls and young women have valuable, passionate and hopeful insights and a right to be consulted in constructing their futures, including their voices is essential to make sure that the world we rebuild is fair, equitable and does not repeat past mistakes.
From the girls’ report
COVID-19 is unlike anything we’ve experienced before. It raises questions, challenges and uncertainty; but equally, we believe it presents opportunities for change.
The pandemic has exposed, revealed, deepened and created significant cracks in our systems, institutions and leadership. As the world rebuilds in the wake of this crisis, we cannot simply return to ‘normal’.
We envision a world in which everyone constantly strives to create the best world possible. A world where everyone feels valued and heard, and free to do what they love. A world surrounded by kindness, peace, opportunity and acceptance for each other, with equality in leadership and the protection of rights.
A transformation of the way society works to truly coexist with the Earth, leaving an equitable and hopeful.
Our visions presented in this report are aspirational, but also achievable – we need a systems change, and we have ideas for what that should look like. We have seen through this pandemic how possible it is for governments and other power-holders to enact a reformist agenda.
We want that agenda to be informed by what we have to say, by our ideas and views; because without an equity lens, you recreate inequalities.