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Our global partnership – and indeed the entire family planning community – is remarkably different than it was when FP2020 launched as an ambitious initiative in 2012. At the time, young people were only just being integrated into the movement. Often, this looked like tokenism: young people brought into conversations well after decisions were made, and only consulted after the time for meaningful input had passed. Now, the movement is going beyond tokenism and into meaningful partnership by integrating young people as key decision makers: they’re now part of the FP2020 Reference Group and official focal points at the country level. They’re excelling as decision-makers in global partnerships and speaking for themselves in global convenings. Young people are increasingly listened to and valued, and are co-creating the tools they need to be the decision makers in their own lives as they build their own futures. Given August 12 is International Youth Day, we want to observe it in a big way, to showcase how far this movement has come and what more we can do together. That’s why, for this issue, we’re turning the newsletter over to young people themselves to tell their own stories: sharing what this partnership has meant to them, how they think it can improve, and their own experiences with family planning and childbirth. For the first time, every article and every interview in our newsletter was written and edited by someone under 30. For the last story in this issue, we turn the focus to the Secretariat itself and introduce you to the young people on our team who work alongside our youth partners in-country in solidarity every day. Sometimes, meaningful engagement means inviting young people onto your platform with you. Sometimes, it means handing the microphone over to a young person and standing back to listen as they speak. We can all learn from what they have to say. Thank you, Emily Sullivan Cate Lane |
FP2020 Special Edition: Youth Takeover
