Indigenous Youth Engagement and Empowerment Coordinator

Volunteering Communications & PR

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

The Context of Youth Empowerment

The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than 600 million youth aged 15-24 years, facing multifaceted and complex challenges, including armed conflicts, disasters, climate risks, ethnoreligious tensions, socioeconomic inequalities, political instability and governance challenges, transnational issues, historical grievances, and natural resource management.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the important role of youth in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and calls for action against the challenges faced by young people that limits their economic, social and political inclusion. Today, young people are more connected, more creative, more informed, and more persuasive than any previous generation. Young people are responding to the challenges of today with innovative approaches, contributing with fresh ideas, creating the world they want, and driving human development for themselves, their communities, and their societies. But at the same time, due to socio-political challenges, many young people are left out of decision-making processes, which further contributes to their marginalization and exclusion.

Evidence shows that even among youth, Indigenous youth, amongst others, disproportionately shoulder the burden of climate change. Of the estimated 476 million indigenous people in the world, around 70 percent live in Asia and the Pacific region. Indigenous people account for about six percent of the global population, but almost 19 percent of the world’s poor. Asia’s large Indigenous population has many distinct groups, each with their own language, culture, customs, land history and social norms.

Young people from Indigenous communities face a range of unique social and cultural challenges. Indigenous communities often live in remote or rural locations with less access to education, health, and other services than other youth; maintenance of culture and identity is often intimately connected to belonging to a community, and decision-making and governance structures are usually conservative and exclude the voices and ideas of young people. Indigenous youth play a challenging, but critical role alongside their communities in defending forests, land and the environment, all of which is threatened by the increasingly extractive industries, development projects and large-scale agribusinesses, putting them at particular risk. This is especially so as Indigenous people are the stewards of the remaining 80% of biodiversity. Their traditional knowledge and experiences are important for effective climate action which also necessitates the recognition of their rights and contributions.

UNDP’s work on inclusion of Indigenous Youth will be implemented via Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Platform (YECAP) with support to the LNOB pillar under the Youth Empowerment Portfolio in Asia and the Pacific (YEP-AP).

The UNV will work as part of the Regional Youth Unit, primarily with Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Platform (YECAP), supporting cross-cutting Leave No-One Behind (LNOB) activities implemented by the project in nexus with climate action.

Under the supervision of the Regional Youth Manager, the Indigenous Youth Engagement and Empowerment Coordinator will assist in implementing YECAP work plan, aligned with strategic support to LNOB work plan, via the following activities:

1) Support the implementation of the Bureau of Regional Hub (BRH) YECAP’s work plan: • Engage youth from Indigenous communities for YECAP for capacity building activities from the Asia-Pacific region • Assess the needs, expertise of YECAP stakeholders related to Indigenous rights and challenges • Coordinate the development of training modules in collaboration with partners and youth related to holistic support of Indigenous youth • Support the development of strategy for meaningful inclusion of Indigenous youth with due considerations to intersectionality from the Asia-Pacific region • Support the development of brief on contributions of Indigenous youth towards sustainable adaptation practices towards the climate crisis in Asia-Pacific, including the role of Indigenous Knowledge

2) Mobilize and engage Indigenous youth and organizations led by and focused on Indigenous youth: • Build and expand networks with Indigenous youth in Asia-Pacific for broader and more effective inclusion of Indigenous youth • Consolidate mapping of Indigenous youth networks operating in Asia-Pacific • Expand and strengthen partnerships with regional and strategic national civil society organizations focused on and/or led by Indigenous youth • Build a community of young Indigenous leaders and Indigenous youth organizations • Establish and strengthen partnerships with UN agencies and relevant stakeholders working on Indigenous issues, including government agencies, civil society organizations, youth networks, and regional organizations

3) Support the Leave No One Behind team to advance the Indigenous agenda: • Coordinate a community of practice for colleagues working on Indigenous Issues across UNDP in Asia-Pacific, as well as regional exchanges between relevant stakeholders and UNDP country teams for sharing best practice and lessons learned; • Support in coordination of other Leave No One Behind activities, including programme design, implementation, and evaluation

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • Contribute with articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

☒ Accountability ☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Building Trust ☒ Client Orientation ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Commitment to Continuous Learning ☒ Communication ☒ Creativity ☒ Empowering Others ☒ Ethics and Values ☒ Integrity ☒ Judgement and Decision-making ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Leadership ☒ Managing Performance ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Professionalism ☒ Respect for Diversity ☒ Self-Management ☒ Technological Awareness ☒ Vision ☒ Working in Teams

youth engagement, community mobilization, and empowerment initiatives, particularly within Indigenous communities. Strong preference given to candidates from Indigenous communities in Asia-Pacific.

• Sound understanding of Indigenous issues, cultures, and traditions along with linkages to environmental and climate risks. • Strong communication skills, both written and verbal • Excellent interpersonal skills to build partnerships with local organizations, and other relevant bodies.

Thailand is located in Southeast Asia. The climate is tropical, with the monsoon season running from May/June through October/November. Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, and it is also the most populated city in the country. It is located in the Chao Phraya River delta in the central part of the country. Bangkok has an estimated population of 8.75 million as of 2017 (13% of Thailand’s total population), based on data from the 2010 census. Over the past decades, Bangkok has grown rapidly with little urban planning or regulation. This has led to traffic congestion and air pollution, and there is frequent flooding of streets during the rainy season in the City’s low-lying areas.

The cost of living in Thailand is relatively low, as compared to many other capitals in Southeast Asia. Housing is widely available in various sizes and at various price points. Private healthcare in Thailand is of excellent standard, and there are numerous top hospitals in Bangkok, which fall far below countries like the US in terms of price. There are numerous high-quality international schools available in Bangkok, with English as the language of instruction. Bangkok has different public transportation options, including the BTS Skytrain and MRT Underground, metered taxis, mobile-based ride-hailing services (Grab, All Thai Taxi, etc.), tuk tuks, motorbike taxis, buses and boats. Overall, Thailand is a unique and beautiful country which provides for an interesting and enriching environment and also requires a mature level of cultural awareness to engage with local communities.

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Added 1 hour ago - Updated 1 hour ago - Source: unv.org