Yerevan, 17 September 2014 – Today the UN House in Armenia welcomed around 20 prominent youth for the official launch of the UN Youth Advisory Group (UNYAP). With this, the UN reaffirmed its commitment to youth as a key agent in decision-making process and a priority area of the UN agenda. 

With the overall goal of increasing youth-adult partnership in decision making process, UNYAP key objectives include: advocating and advising the UN Country Team (UNCT) on the strategic opportunities and necessary actions for addressing adolescent and youth issues, increasing the level and quality of youth participation in planning and implementation of the UN programs in Armenia and reflecting youth related issues in the UN-Armenia Partnership Framework 2016-2020.

Bradley Busetto, UN Resident Coordinator and Garik Hayrapetyan, UNFPA Armenia Assistant Representative greeted the guests and the members, introducing the concept of UNYAP and the scope of the meeting.

The UN Resident Coordinator thanked the members of the UN Youth Advisory Panel for their interest in the UN and readiness to contribute to the work of the UN in Armenia. “The UN has long recognized that young people are a major human resource for development and key agents for social change, economic growth and technological innovation. Nearly all the UN agencies work with youth and on youth issues and UNYAP is an excellent opportunity to hear young voices and perspectives. Moreover, throughout 2014, the UN along with the Armenian Government will be developing its next mid-term strategy - the UN-Armenia Partnership Framework 2016-2020 (UNAPF). This indeed is a great opportunity for you to reflect youth related concerns into the document,” he added.

Members of the UNCT reiterated the importance of youth participation in the discussions on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the UN-Armenia Partnership Framework, as well as other areas of UN activity in Armenia.Mr. Hayrapetyan introduced the concept and the expected results of the UNYAP. “The outcome we expect from this platform is the increased level of capacity and practical knowledge of the local youth about their rights and participation, as well as the improved communication between UN and Armenian young people in the implementation of UN programmes in the areas of policy, advocacy, behavioral change, livelihood and other areas related to youth,” he mentioned.

The meeting was closed by a Q&A session and with a strong commitment to fruitful cooperation.