A Students Perspective

Being that this is my first CSW, I feel like I have an internal burning desire to see and attend as many events as I possibly can. Some may call it over achieving and others may say that I have fallen victim to FOMO, a recently new phenomenon in which one experiences anxiety caused by the fear of missing out. Though there may be some truth to both sides, I feel that there is a direct correlation with my recent potential diagnosis of FOMO and the common running theme at the CSW of the involvement and participation of the younger generation in advancing women and girl’s issues.

Since the CSW NGOs Consultation Day, youth’s involvement has come up in several conversation and meetings that I have attended. People are recognizing that there is a need for the younger generation to be involved, yet what seems to be lacking is how that will happen and by whom. ‘How do we raise a generation that will honor women’s human rights?’ or ‘how do we create a space that gets youth involved?’ are common question that keep surfacing.

As part of the younger generation I can attest that I struggled to see how I could be more involved in creating change at such a high level. I have done advocacy work, particularly with sex trafficking in Houston, Texas, but as a student who’s interest lie in international social work, its sometimes hard to see where I fit in and how I can possibly make a difference. Today, Tuesday March 11 I had the privileged of attending an event in which five students from North Carolina were doing just that.

They assessed the Millennium Development Goals and make direct connections to their current studies and research. Violence in adolescent relationship, child mortality and improving maternal health, and gender equality are just some of the main issues that they addressed. Each student provided a clear problem statement that linked to a MDG and provided evidence-based suggestions on how organizations, both locally and globally can affectively address these issues.

It was inspiring to see students my own age and younger, stand up in front of leaders in the women’s rights movement and provide them with the evidence that not only showed how they failed in reaching the MDGs but also provided them with example on what they can do to fix it. The session not only exemplified and supported the importance of the inclusion of the younger generation but also provided a way in which it can be done.

Jenna Cooper