Voices of Youth

Are you passionate about indigenous peoples and want to express your thoughts and opinions regarding their human rights? Well we want to hear about your experiences and publish them in an adolescent-friendly version of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples!

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was endorsed by the General Assembly in 2007 as a universal blue print for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. We here at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – in collaboration with the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues - are developing an adolescent-friendly version of the UNDRIP to extend this knowledge to both indigenous and non-indigenous young people and support their advocacy for indigenous peoples’ rights..

The adolescent-friendly version of the UNDRIP needs to adequately express a wide range of values and this can only be achieved if young people such as yourself directly express their thoughts and opinions. We are therefore inviting you to submit an essay of 800 words or less by 9 April 2012 to be included in the adolescent-friendly version of the UNDRIP. These essays should highlight the distinct challenges that indigenous adolescents face today and the actions they are taking to address them. Please feel free to write on any topic you choose as long as it relates to indigenous peoples and their rights, but also please be aware that submission of an essay does not necessarily guarantee publication.

A draft adolescent-friendly UNDRIP is currently being pre-tested with indigenous and non-indigenous adolescents. The final product will provide a brief overview of who indigenous peoples are, their situation from a global perspective, as well as background information on the indigenous peoples’ movement and the importance of the UNDRIP. This is an amazing opportunity to have your experiences and opinions regarding indigenous peoples’ rights included in a global publication!

For examples of guest essays written by adolescents for other UNICEF publications, please visit http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/adolescentvoices.php or contact us if you have any questions.

For both inquiries and submissions – deadline is 9 April 2012 - please email:

Nicola Brandt nbrandt@unicef.org

Thank you and we very much look forward to receiving your submissions

Photo© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0677/Susan Markisz