UN Sustainable Development Goals Challenge (Essay contest- 3.2016)

USYNC: The Path to Sustainable Development in the US

“I have news!” The classroom falls silent as twenty eager student writers turn to the instructor. With determination glinting in their eyes, these youth look to newspaper writing as a means of consolidating their writing skills and applying universal concepts such as global citizenship and peace to their neighborhood. This is the environment that will be established by the US Youth Newspaper Camp, a community-based education initiative targeting low-income youth in the US. With guidance from a national oversight committee, the USYNC program will partner local high school (11th-12th grades) and college students with students from 6th – 10th grade in neighboring low-income areas to help disadvantaged youth simulate the investigation, writing, and publication aspects of journalism. Participating youth will investigate community and international events, gaining a sense of their place in the local and global community. Students will strengthen their writing skills by synthesizing their findings and opinions in 6-8 newspaper publications annually. As these newspapers are spread, digitally and by paper, USYNC youth will be able to influence local opinion, bringing global awareness and a mentality of sustainable development to their community.

This project most clearly addresses Sustainable Development Goal #4—quality education. USYNC allows its youth journalists to apply their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills outside the classroom, basic abilities that are critical for success in any career. The program offers equal educational opportunities to empower the most vulnerable members of society and motivates them toward higher education. As students report on local affairs, they will be more involved in the community, gaining a desire to make a change in their neighborhoods. By writing about international occurrences, low-income youth will become aware of the “knowledge and skills necessary to promote sustainable development,” especially human rights, peace, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity. Students will be able to apply this knowledge to develop local and national solutions to pressing social issues at USYNC conferences for local chapters. Supported by local mentors and a national community of like-minded peers, USYNC youth reporters will be empowered to actively pursue higher education and spread their change-making mentality throughout their communities, meeting the targets of Sustainable Development Goal #4 in an effective and sustainable manner.

As it grows into an academic and stimulating community of socially-conscious youth, USYNC will be able to offer students not only educational opportunities, but also exposure to various career paths. Through interviews with various members of the community and special guest speaker presentations at USYNC conferences, youth journalists will be encouraged to pursue careers that they might not have considered in the past. By taking the first step to diversifying the labor pool of the next generation, USYNC can also make progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goal #8—decent work and economic growth.

In accord with the spirit of the Secretary-General’s 5-Year Action Agenda, emphasizing cooperation with youth worldwide, USYNC strives to change low-income youth throughout the US into community leaders, youth activists, and valuable change-makers in the campaign for sustainable development in the modern world.