IIMA Human Rights Office joined forces with VIDES International for the realization of the Project “Youth to Reshape the World– Youth as Advocates and Agents of Transformative Actions in Social Inclusion and Environment Protection”. Funded by the European Commission, this project to be implemented in 2023 – 2025 includes a critical Human Rights advocacy and capacity building component in order to: Empower youth to become change-making agents in terms of social inclusion and environmental protection within the communities in which they operate in EU cities and countries; Capacitate youth to...

The 12th of August is International Youth Day, which was created by the United Nations General Assembly as an opportunity to give young people voices and provide them with meaningful participation in political and social life. The 2023 International Youth Day theme is “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World,” to streamline the green transition and the need to develop green skills. The theme is in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in response to the climate change crisis. Green skills, consisting of “knowledge, values and attitudes needed to...

Water is the driving force of all nature. - Leonardo da Vinci Since early times it has been clear to us that water is crucial for our existence and development. Since 1993, this has been officially emphasized by celebrating the 22nd of March as World Water Day. This day serves for all of us as a reminder of the importance of clean water and to become more aware of how we use and manage the water available to us. It is addressed to governments and businesses to create policies and practices...

On 9 March 2023, the Geneva Graduate Institute, in partnership with the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, hosted a hybrid event entitled “Enabling Youth for Just Transitions: The Way Ahead.” The aim of this event was to “highlight the challenges and opportunities that are shaping the biggest labor and environmental transformations of our time, shedding light on the importance of enabling youth in just transition discourses, activism, and policymaking” (GGI). So, what does a “just transition” mean for youth? Agata Meysner, President of Generation Climate Europe, stated that a just transition...

(Regunathapuram-India) On March 12, 2022, IIMA members in India, and in particular the Auxilium College of Education in Regunathapuram, organized an International Seminar on "The Role of Youth in Safeguarding Mother Earth", which was attended by 500 people, including students, professors and educators, in the framework of the Institutes of Higher Learning of Asia and Africa. There were important references on: 1. How environmental degradation occurs. 2. The impact of human activities on the environment, climate change and global warming. 3. Strategies to stop the deterioration of the environment: the use...

On the occasion of the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council, IIMA and Vides International, together with the permanent Mission of the Philippines, organized the side  event: “Promoting a Safe and Empowering Environment for all Children and youth - best practices for child and youth protection and participation through human rights education” held at the Palace of the Nations on September 25, 2019. The event was co-sponsored by sixteen Permanent Missions: Egypt, El Salvador, Italy, Portugal, Ethiopia, Montenegro, Poland, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Thailand, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Spain, Holy See, Uruguay; and also...

 The 42ndSession of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations started in Geneva on the 9thof September, and will finish on September 27. During this period, there will be debates, several reports from the Special Procedure mandate-holders as well as side events on different human rights issues with special emphasis on indigenous people’s rights. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, identified several challenges confronting us today. In particular, she highlighted how climate change is becoming a global threat to human rights. In fact, according to the World...

"I was a victim of several floods generated by multiple typhoons. Once the Pasing river overflowed and submerged our house, almost reaching the second floor. That was the time in 2009 when I became a more active defender of the environment, I saw the need and felt the strong desire to do something concrete about that." This is Zarah De Guzman from VIDES Philippines who shares her experience. Now she is 23, but her story brings us back to when she was 14. On September 28th she was invited to share...