COVID-19, climate change, and many other factors have impacted children and young people globally. An entire generation is at risk. The Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative supports efforts to encourage our government to make children and young people globally a top priority. To ensure effective policies, programming, and funding, it is critical that young people have a voice and a seat at the table and have input into decisions that impact their lives. Young people are leading changemakers and need to be part of solutions.
The Youth Alliance Working Group (YAWG) is composed of fellows, interns, and young people who provide partner organizations with a pragmatic way for youth perspectives to be part of the process. The YAWG objectives are to:
The Youth Alliance Working Group has helped shape the Initiative's joint advocacy agenda, providing their own recommendation such as calls for establishing a Congressional Caucus for Children and Youth Globally.
The Youth Alliance Working Group (YAWG) is composed of fellows, interns, and young people who provide partner organizations with a pragmatic way for youth perspectives to be part of the process. The YAWG objectives are to:
- Provide expertise and insights from a young person’s perspective into policy proposals and advocacy initiatives and ensure young people are fully engaged and contributing to policy priorities and advocacy initiatives
- Facilitate youth learning about and contributions to the Initiative and civil societies in proposing government initiatives
- Demonstrate that youth are changemakers who bring solutions
- Provide youth with practical experience interacting with government officials and NGO representative
- Engage global youth networks to ensure their experience, concerns, and recommendations are brought to policymakers and that the needs of children and youth globally are prioritized, rather than remain an afterthought
The Youth Alliance Working Group has helped shape the Initiative's joint advocacy agenda, providing their own recommendation such as calls for establishing a Congressional Caucus for Children and Youth Globally.
Political Will & Advocacy
CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH GLOBALLY
The YAWG is supporting and advocating for the joint advocacy agenda put forward by the Initiative to make children and youth globally a priority in government policy, programming and funding. The YAWG has also prioritized calls for the creation of a nonpartisan Congressional Caucus for Children and Youth Globally. This Caucus would:
The YAWG is supporting and advocating for the joint advocacy agenda put forward by the Initiative to make children and youth globally a priority in government policy, programming and funding. The YAWG has also prioritized calls for the creation of a nonpartisan Congressional Caucus for Children and Youth Globally. This Caucus would:
- Acknowledge young people as changemakers and future leaders on issues ranging from democratic governance, poverty alleviation, justice, human rights, equality and equity, violence prevention, conflict resolution, environmental protection, peace and security, and much more
- Facilitate activities by Members of Congress to support better outcomes for children and youth around the world
- Ensure issues impacting children and youth globally are prioritized in government policies, programming, and funding
- Encourage Members of Congress to support a holistic approach to meet the needs of children and youth globally.
To build political will and and strengthen advocacy efforts, the YAWG is currently active preparing and empowering youth to meet with officials in Congress and government. The YAWG has contributed to and is advocating for the Initiative's joint advocacy agenda, which would ensure children and youth globally are a higher priority in government policy, programming, and funding. In addition, the YAWG has prioritized calls to create a Congressional Caucus for Children and Youth Globally.
Initiative Consultations
The Initiative and YAWG participants consult and interact regularly to ensure youth perspectives are considered and integrated into Initiative recommendations and materials. The YAWG serves as a youth “soundboard” for proposals and engages to shape and influence outputs. The YAWG facilitates participation by youth advocates from around the world into virtual events for policymakers and their staff.
YAWG Secretariat
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Emily Davis (she/her) is a Research Associate and Advocacy Liaison for the Children's Policy and Funding Initiative and a Research Fellow at Strategy for Humanity. She graduated from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver with a Master of Arts in International Studies with a focus in Human Rights and a Graduate Certificate in Humanitarian Assistance. Emily’s specialization is in gender-based violence and women’s rights. Previously, Emily interned for the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Global Criminal Justice where she assisted the office in multiple mass-atrocity prevention tasks and reports. She also interned for the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility Community of Practice at the UNFPA where she identified, tracked, and quantified information and support requests posted on the Community of Practice website by participant members from around the world. She hopes to pursue a career in gender-based violence prevention, peace, and security. You can find her LinkedIn here.
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Anny Lin (she/her) served as a Fellow for the Global Campaign for Education-US (GCE-US), where she supported the organization’s advocacy, public policy, communications, and engagement work. graduated summa cum laude from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, earning her B.A. in International Affairs with a concentration in International Development. Anny has previously served as an intern at Inkululeko, a non-profit organization that promotes education access in the township communities of Makhanda, South Africa, where she assisted with the organization’s grant management, donor relations, and social media presence. Following her fellowship with the Global Campaign for Education-US, Anny will begin her journey as a VIA Global Community Fellow in Thailand. In this role, she will serve as a Program Progression Advisor at Parami University, working closely with students from non-traditional educational backgrounds.
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Maha Shoaib, a Fulbright Scholar from Pakistan, is currently pursuing a graduate degree in International Education Policy at the University of Maryland College Park. As a Graduate Fellow at the Global Campaign for Education - US (GCE-US), she actively contributes to promoting SDG4 by assisting in advocacy, public policy, strategic communications, and youth engagement. Maha aims to enhance her understanding of global education advocacy and policymaking, with a focus on implementing effective education policies. Previously, she worked at Teach For Pakistan, collaborating with stakeholders to expand access to quality education in a rural community in Islamabad. Maha is driven by her passion for developing sustainable education systems that offer equal opportunities for all children to learn, grow, and succeed.
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Kate is an undergraduate honors student studying Political Science and International Relations at
Northeastern University. Currently, she is a Student Fellow with GCE-US and a member of the Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative Youth Alliance Working Group (YAWG). Previously, she served as a member of the 100 Million Campaign’s USA National Campaign Group, and was the United Nations Association of the USA’s Human-Rights Affinity Group Co-Chair. Kate has advocated for human rights on a global scale as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, the Convention on the Status of Women, the High Level Political Forum, and as a Youth Consultant to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. She is so excited to be involved with the YAWG! |
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Dana Marion is an honors student at the University of Michigan from San Antonio, Texas majoring in International Studies and Anthropology with a minor in Education for Empowerment. With a special interest in working with refugee communities, she tutored local refugee students in San Antonio for four years at the Center for Refugee Services and has continued to advocate for the rights of refugees as Project Lead of UNICEF-UM. With a strong passion for international travel and experiential learning, she has studied abroad in Ghana, Thailand, and Spain. Last summer, she initiated the Environment and Sustainability Language-Learning Program as an intern at Alef, a civil society organization serving the local Eritrean asylum-seeking population in Haifa, Israel. Additionally, she has been an International Development Intern for the past two years at the Education for All Coalition (EFAC), a nonprofit dedicated to creating education opportunities to empower displaced children around the world, engaging in conversations about educational solutions for refugee children with a focus on climate education. This summer, she will be the Global Classrooms Curriculum Assistant at the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area in Washington, D.C. Through this position, she is hoping to share her passion for international affairs and utilize education as a tool for social change. She is incredibly excited to be joining the YAWG community as a GCE-US fellow and cannot wait to continue exploring the intersection between education and international affairs in the pursuit of achieving equitable education for all.
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Aku Unvu (She/Her) is currently a second-year college student pursuing Political Science with a concentration in International Relations at The College of Wooster. She is originally from Denver, Colorado, where she attended APS Avenues High School. Aku is interested in foreign policy, human rights issues, and immigration issues. In the future she hopes to influence foreign policy and human rights issues as a diplomat.
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Meghana Srikrishna is the former Search for Common Ground's (SFCG) Youth, Peace, & Security fellow. She assisted with SFCG's youth-centered advocacy. Meghana has successfully completed her M.A. in Global Communication with a specialization in Public Diplomacy from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. With her expertise in this field, Meghana is now enthusiastically job hunting for positions in public diplomacy. Her passion for fostering understanding and effective communication between diverse cultures is commendable. . Prior to joining SFCG, Meghana worked in immigration law as a paralegal and has policy experience from past internships with the US-ASEAN Business Council and U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Meghana holds a B.A. in Political Science and Global Studies from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
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