Twenty Belizean youth participated in a capacity building session which introduced them to the concept of population dynamics and its particular importance in current times where the world is expected to reach 8 billion people by November 2022. The learning session was aimed at commemorating World Population Day 2022 under the theme “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all - Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”. In an ideal world, 8 billion people means 8 billion opportunities for healthier societies empowered by rights and choices. But the reality is we live in an unequal world where too many are still exposed to discrimination, harassment and violence based on gender, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation, disability and origin, among other factors. Guided by youth educators of the Belize Family Life Association (BFLA), the participants benefited from an overview of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) that produced the Programme of Action which guides the work of UNFPA, and is the basis for the singular most significant political affirmation of the importance of population dynamics in Latin America and the Caribbean - The Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development.
Key chapters of the Montevideo Consensus were reviewed in interactive, youth-friendly approaches such as games, trivia and mini round tables to meet a second objective of initiating a series of capacity building sessions among key stakeholders in the country, on the heels of the the Fourth Meeting of the Regional Conference on Population and Development (RCPD) in Latin America and the Caribbean. The conference was held in Santiago, Chile, at the ECLAC Headquarters in June 2022 and focused on the socio demographic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean and the challenges posed by the health crisis for the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development. The Belize Youth Advisory Group President, Jenean Sabal, was a participant in the RCPD and was one of the facilitators of the youth learning session, helping to ensure that the Belizean and Caribbean youth will trail blaze advocacy on the topic of youth development in the context of population and development.
