Youth Parliament program held
The general session or the closing ceremony of the Youth Parliament-2022 Program organized at the national level by the Secretariat of Parliament, the UNICEF, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the Scouts Association of Mongolia, on May 27 at the State Palace.
The program lasted for six months, and the students participated in e-courses on topics such as parliamentary education, energy, mental characteristics of youth, and personal development, and successfully organized advocacy activities on acquiring proper energy-saving habits.
Nine to 11th grade students from 21 provinces and nine districts of Ulaanbaatar participated in the national program. This year, 35 students from Ulaanbaatar, 39 from provincial centers, and 17 from soums participated.
At the session, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Sustainable Development Goals of Parliament and Minister of Labor and Social Protection Kh.Bulgantuya remarked, “When I started this program two years ago, I was not sure if I would be able to achieve what it is today. We faced the public criticism that children are being politicized. But our goal is to prepare the best leaders of the future in every field, who find solutions and innovate. Two years ago, I decided to start the Youth Parliament Program when I sat down with experts from the UNICEF to discuss how to achieve the SDGs, identify and solve the problems facing the world, and how to ensure youth participation. A total of 17 of the 91 students selected for this program were from soum schools. Last year, the focus was on issues such as climate change and healthy eating, while this year’s program focused on energy conservation and environmentally friendly consumption.
Knowledge and information were given about the international energy consumption policy against climate change, and the need for citizen participation, including the participation and leadership of youth. We aim to develop the children who are the future of Mongolia into citizens who can compete in the world. I hope that the children who participated in the Youth Parliament Program have discovered a new style in their lives.”
UNICEF Representative to Mongolia Evariste Kouassi-Komlan said, “It is very important for every child and young person to raise their voice and opinion at the level of Parliament. I would like to thank the initiators of the program for providing this opportunity. It is a great advantage to learn about climate change from a young age and learn why you should be involved in solving this problem. The participation, opinions and leadership of children and young people are essential to prevent many problems that will arise in the future and solve them together now. Children participating in the program learned a lot of new things in the past. I am also happy that I have started to share it with others, do advocacy work, and make positive changes in my circle. Starting today, everything you do will represent the voice not only of yourself, but of your classmates, friends, peers, and every child in every corner of the country.”
Participants from Govi-Altai and Dornogovi provinces D.Nomin and E.Dulguuntamir expressed that they learned many interesting knowledge and skills from the program about the goals of sustainable development, climate change, the participation of youth in protecting the environment, teamwork, leadership, and participation in humanitarian activities. On the same day, the participants of the program held meetings of the Youth Parliament-2022 Joint and Standing Committee within the framework of three main issues in accordance with the Law on Parliamentary Procedure.
In specific, at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Environment, Food, and Agriculture, the students exchanged views on the issue of increasing the participation of the energy sector in ensuring healthy and safe living, education, and children’s rights. They also discussed the issue of promoting youth social participation and spreading parliamentary education. At the meeting of the budget and economic standing committee, the students talked about the issue of electricity and heat consumption and making energy saving a habit. The opinions and conclusions of the standing committees’ meeting will be discussed at the general meeting, and the opinions will be presented to Parliament.