STORY: UN Secretary-Generals Envoy on Youth makes

inaugural visit to Somalia

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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 18/DECEMBER/2017, MOGADISHU SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide shot, UN Secretary-Generals Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake

arriving at the venue of the National Youth Conference
2. Med shot, UN Secretary-Generals Envoy on Youth, Jayathma Wickramanayake,
being welcomed by the Federal Minister of Youth and Sports Khadija Mohamed
Diriye
3. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake talking to Minister Khadija Mohamed
Diriye
4. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake meeting with Peter de Clercq,
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Somalia and
Minister Khadija Mohamed Diriye
5. Close up shot, DSRSG Peter de Clercq
6. Close up shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake
7. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake talking to a youth
8. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake talking to a United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) official
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-
Generals Envoy on Youth
So, Im here in Somalia to be a part of that process to reassure the support of
United Nations to the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, the state ministries and
the young people of Somalia that the United Nations will always be with them in this
journey of implementing their youth policy.

10. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake talking to a youth and UNFPA
official
11. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake talking to a UNFPA official
12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-
Generals Envoy on Youth
Time and time again, the young people of Somalia have proven to the world that
they are resilient, that they have the perseverance and they have the strength and
courage to come out of the pressing issues and challenges in their societies, in their
communities. So I see that great energy, great enthusiasm and great hope in all of
the young people in the country. I would like to encourage all of them to work
harder, get involved in the civic and political lives, get involved in the decision-
making processes and take that step to shape our future for ourselves.

13. Wide shot, Conference hall

14. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake being received by the Mayor of
Mogadishu, Thabit Abdi Mohamed
15. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake and Mogadishu Mayor Thabit Abdi
Mohamed
16. Close up shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake
17. Close up shot, Mayor of Mogadishu Thabit Abdi Mohamed
18. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake and Mayor of Mogadishu in a
meeting
19. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake and Mayor of Mogadishu walking
20. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake and Mayor of Mogadishu entering
the conference hall
21. Med shot, the youth clapping
22. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake
23. Wide shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake addressing the youth
24. Med shot, youth listening
25. Med shot, Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake speaking
26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-
Generals Envoy on Youth
We should stop stigmatizing young people based on the stereotypes. For example,
if youre young, youre likely to be radicalized. If youre young, youre likely to be an
extremist. I dont think these are true. I think the majority of young people, just like
all of you in this room want peace, love peace and are working towards peace. So I
think there should be greater change in the narrative where we recognize young
people as victims or perpetrators of violence into changing that as to who we truly
are -- the peacebuilders.

27. Wide shot, the youth listening to Jayathma Wickramanayake speaking

28. Med shot, the youth listening
29. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-
Generals Envoy on Youth
But when you ask young people what peace means, for us young people, peace is
broader. Peace is bigger. Peace is not just living without conflict. Peace is
development, peace is being able to freely express ourselves. Peace is everything we
do in our day-to-day lives and being able to do that without being restricted.

30. Med shot, youth speaking at the conference

31. Close up shot, youth speaking at the conference

On first visit to Somalia, UN Envoy on Youth hails role played by young people in
country's future
Mogadishu Whats a 27-year-old Sri Lankan woman doing in the middle of
Somalias capital of Mogadishu, a city rebuilding after many years of chaos and civil
war?
In the case of Jayathma Wickramanayake, shes doing her job.

Ms. Wickramanayake is the United Nations Secretary-Generals Envoy on Youth,

charged with addressing the needs and rights of young people, and bringing the
work of the world body closer to them especially relevant tasks for Somalia, where
young people under the age of 30 make up over two-thirds of the estimated
population of over 12 million people.

Youth are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they are the champions of today. Its
important that I get out of UN Headquarters to hear first-hand their concerns
including in a place like Somalia, where youth have gone through so much and are
still facing structural and institutional barriers to greater participation due to their
age -- and bring those concerns to the attention of the government, policy-makers
and our UN teams on the ground, she said about her visit, her first trip to an African
country since she was appointed earlier this year.

Ms. Wickramanayake spent three days in the Somali capital engaged in a wide range
of activities, including her participation in the second Somali National Youth
Conference, a gathering of hundreds of youth representatives from all over the
country that witnessed the launch of the Federal Governments National Youth
Policy on the opening day of the forum on 17 December.

Im here in Somalia to reassure the support of the United Nations to the Federal
Ministry of Youth and Sports, state ministries and the young people of Somalia, the
UN envoy said in her remarks to the conference. The United Nations will always be
with them in this journey of implementing their youth policy.

Her visit to the Horn of Africa country is focusing renewed attention on issues of
concern to young Somalis, including unemployment, illegal migration, insecurity and
violent extremism.

The recently adopted National Youth Policy is aiming to address these challenges by
removing institutional barriers to youth development. Ms. Wickramanayake urged
young Somalis to pursue their goals and overcome the obstacles facing them.

Time and time again, the young people of Somalia have proven to the world that
they are resilient, that they have perseverance and they have the courage to come
out of the pressing issues, challenges in their societies, in their communities, she
stated during her address.

The UN envoy also expressed sympathy with victims of the 14 October bomb attack
in Mogadishu that claimed more than 500 lives, and she lauded humanitarian
assistance initiatives by youth in support of the victims. She also urged young
Somalis to use positive means to resolve their problems.
The right to participation is the right of all young people, she said. We should
keep demanding that space and when that space is there, we should make good use
of that opportunity and make sure that our priorities and concerns are well
reflected.
Ms. Wickramanayakes background makes her particularly well-suited to address the
concerns of Somali youth. Prior to her appointment as the Secretary-Generals youth
envoy, she was heavily involved in youth-related activities, including the launch of a
movement for greater political and civic engagement of young people in her native
Sri Lanka a country which has suffered armed conflict and natural disasters in the
recent past.

In her current role, she is expanding the UNs engagement with youth and its
advocacy efforts in the areas of sustainable development, human rights, peace and
security and humanitarian action. For us young people, peace is broader, she said.
Peace is bigger. Peace is not just living without conflict. Peace is development,
peace is being able to freely express ourselves. Peace is everything we do in our day-
to-day lives and being able to do that without being restricted.

In her closing remarks at the Somali National Youth Conference on Tuesday, the
envoy shared three main findings from her stay in Mogadishu. Ms. Wickramanayake
highlighted the unity demonstrated by the youth participants who came from all
across the country, the fact that young people showed themselves to be the real
peace-builders needed for Somalias future, and the strong desires of young Somalis
to connect and share experiences with other youth from around the globe.

Describing the countrys young people as its greatest asset, she reassured the
participants and the Somali Government of the world bodys ongoing support to
ensure a brighter future for the countrys youth.

During her visit, the UN envoys other activities included meeting with a number of
senior government officials, including Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, the Minister
of Youth and Sport, Khadijah Mohammed Diriye and the Mayor of Mogadishu, Thabit
Mohamed Abdi, as well as representatives of civil society, and senior UN officials.

She also met with a diverse range of young Somalis, including representatives of
youth organizations and networks, the members of the newly established National
Youth Council, representatives of womens groups, and entrepreneurs participating
in an innovation workshop supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).