UNAIDS Secretariat (lead)
Co-organizing partners: UNICEF, UNFPA, a global network of New Generation Leaders (CrowdOutAIDS) and two youth organizations with broad mandates far beyond HIV -- Advocates for Youth; and the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR)

This highly interactive event will be developed by and for young people (YP). It will feature YP?s growing exposure to and interest in world affairs due to ICT, and their ability to connect and collaborate to shape their futures, unencumbered by sectoral identities and interests. It will advance the SG?s agenda on youth, and complement the Youth Blast by its focus on innovative ICT approaches such as crowdsourcing, mutual accountability, and its grounding in lessons learned from the AIDS movement. This session will catalyse new partnerships to join the passion and knowledge of the HIV, global health and environment movements, with practical ways to work together at country level. These partnerships will intensify progress toward the MDGs, and build political support and capacity for delivering the UN Post-2015 development agenda. It will strengthen YP?s engagement and add zest to the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development theme.

Young people (YP) are the new generation of sustainable development leaders. Not the ?next generation,? because they are leading now. Over 1.6 billion young people worldwide are learning, working, and connecting in local and global networks that were unimagined 20 years ago. They inspire and mobilize their peers, parents and communities inventing new ways of networking including use of social media. Thanks to mobile phones and broadband connectivity, young people are more than ever aware, interested and able to contribute to and influence world events. They see the interconnections among the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, free of sectoral and organizational silos that have fragmented and slowed progress toward the MDGs. They are unimpressed by lofty but unrealized commitments, and are demanding that Rio+20 focus on implementation.

This side-event is about applying lessons learned from the global AIDS movement to promote solidarity, youth-led innovation, and a new vision of partnership in international development, taking forward the UN SG?s agenda on youth. UNAIDS is a global advocate for inclusive youth participation in decision making ? overcoming exclusion of marginalized young people. In 2011-2012, over 5000 young people across the globe, including YP with disabilities, LGBTI, and those involved in sex work and drug use, contributed to a new youth strategy for UNAIDS through a crowdsourcing initiative -- ?CrowdOutAIDS? -- a first in the UN system. The joint UNAIDS programme (also unique in the UN system) is enabling new forms of civic participation and engagement of YP. It is empowering YP to take collective action on the issues that concern them, and to promote a world of greater equality and justice.

Young people must push us farther. To realize the vision of Rio UNCED and the Millennium Declaration, a new vision of partnership, and a powerful coalition of movements is required. Transformational and multi-lateral learning and communication must replace traditional visions of capacity development. Institutions and habits must change to make development cooperation more effective, efficient and consistent. This session will build on the outcomes of Youth Blast. It will launch friendships and partnerships to unite young people, and innovate use of ICTs to amplify the voice of their constituency in advocating for ?triple win? approaches that include marginalized youth.

The session will be in an interactive format such as the ?World Café? - a proven method for engaginging a large audience in building a common vision and prioritizing action steps within a short time.
Provisional session outline (to be reviewed and revised by the Planning Committee):
I. Welcome and introduction by the co-chairs ? a young media personality and a political leader (10 min)
II. Keynote speeches/remarks (3 or 4 Speakers, 5 minutes each)
III. World Café ? in which YP, mostly from low- and middle-income countries, share success factors from their respective movements, and identify practical ways to bridge sectoral barriers, collaborate using ICT, and hold leaders of all ages accountable for implementing a unified Sustainable Development agenda. (40 min)
IV. Putting it all together. (30 min) ? Report-back, where key approaches and institutional support needs are defined for unified action. Moderator pulls out common themes, new linkages, and voluntary commitments.
V. Conclusion. (20 min)

Proposed Speakers:
Speakers to include: Young HIV-positive speaker (such as Mr Maged El Syed Rabey, Program Coordinator, Friends of Life Organization, Egypt); Mr. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS; and VIP young people involved in the environment movement and global health (of the stature of Barbara Pierce Bush, founder of Global Health Corps).

Discussion Anchors: 8-12 YP from HIV, other health, social justice and environment movements, to lead discussion and foster specific plans and commitments at a World Café table.

Moderator: Young, expert facilitator.

Planning Committee:
The young people nominated by UNAIDS and co-organizers to serve as Discussion Anchors will comprise the virtual Planning Committee for the session. At least half of the Planning Committee will be individuals planning to participate in Youth Blast.

Outcomes:
This session will catalyse new partnerships that transcend social and sectoral barriers and join the passion, knowledge and energy of the HIV, global health and environment movements, with practical ways YP can continue to work together at country level to achieve sustainable development. These partnerships will attract voluntary commitments of funding and technical support, strengthen young people?s voice in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and add zest to the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development theme. Young people today are involved today in separate global health, gender, human rights and environment movements. Uniting them may be the world?s best hope for innovative thinking and action to achieve sustainable development in the post-2105 era.