Held in Jamaica, Fiji and Seychelles, in July 2013, these meetings brought together over 70 young people representing 30 different small island countries to discuss SIDS' development issues.
Sponsored by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the workshops allowed youth from the Caribbean, Pacific and Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Seas (AIMS) regions to participate in the regional preparatory process for the Conference, which will take place in Apia, Samoa, in September 2014.
Important issues for island development identified by the participants included education, climate change, health and sustainable energy. Participants from all three regions made individual commitments to take action on these issues in their home communities, and highlighted the overall importance of youth partnership and activism.
Participants in each regional workshop developed youth statements, which were presented to each of the Regional Preparatory Meetings and will be presented together at the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting (IPM), convening in Barbados from 26-28 August 2013. [UNESCO Press Release] [SIDS Regional Youth Consultations and Statements Website] [2014 SIDS Conference Website] [IISD RS Coverage of SIDS Regional Preparatory Meetings]
