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Young People from S²Cities Take Center Stage at WUF12

As part of their engagement at WUF12, young representatives from S²Cities interviewed each other posing questions around their experience and learnings in the programme and at WUF12.

 

WUF12 was an opportunity for young people from S2Cities implementing cities to come together and share their experiences, insights, and ideas on urban safety challenges. The event allowed them to engage with global leaders and meet like-minded individuals and young people from around the globe. They also showcased the role of young people in shaping sustainable and resilient cities for the future.

 

To capture the spirit and impact of this experience, we invited these young people to interview each other about their time at WUF12. Here are their answers to three questions!

 

 

What was your one key highlight from WUF12?

 

“I think that the most beautiful and interesting thing about being here in Cairo, is that it’s a cultural capital where we were able to have first-hand experiences of being in a different city, on another continent outside of our home country. And I think that’s the challenge for us as young people, to put into practice all that we have learned, and somehow help more young people feel that they live in healthy and safe cities.”

– Isabel Capuz | Young person from Ambato

 

“When I spoke at the Children and Youth Roundtable about our initiative, Happy Paws Pet Park, in Baguio City, Philippines, it was amazing, because I got to experience this in my lifetime.”

– Audrey Pahayahay | Young person from Baguio

 

“I think the moment that has stuck with me the most from WUF has been the mural that Beto made. It was nice to see how people stayed. They were taking photos, observing what it was about. Some asked if they could join? It was very interactive and different from what we were used to.”

– Nicolas Cedillo | Young person from Cuenca

 

“For me, it’s all the cultural diversity that we have here and all of the perspectives to building a city. It’s interesting to get to know each other and get to know all the related concepts and processes.”

– Miguel Angel Ocampo | Young person from Envigado

 

“My highlight is about being in front of so many people and sharing my experiences of participating in the S²Cities programme and sharing how we implement initiatives. That was something really incredible.”

– Fabricio Alejandro Naranjo | Young person from Cuenca

 

“For me the most important moment at the World Urban Forum was about our event, Mechanisms for Trust-building and Empowering Youth to Participate in Urban Decision-making.”

– María Paulina Castrillon Uribe | Young person from Envigado

 

“When local youth from Cairo came, they were asking for suggestions on what to do at WUF, as it was their first time attending WUF. What we did is we shared our initiative, we shared about S²Cities. Hopefully someday they will have motivation to be involved in their city and bring change in their city, especially for the safety of the youth. I met many new people and a lot of youth here, and I made a lot of friends. That’s the best highlight for me at WUF. ”

– Cyrus Amante Lin | Young person from Naga

 

 

Who is one interesting person you met at WUF?

“One of the most interesting people was the mayor of Ambato. Because we were able to talk and have a dialogue with her about the S²Cities programme and tell her that the programme is a success. It’s going to expand and reach more young people. The idea is to connect with experts and leaders who can be great allies for the programme and for the young people, obviously.”

– Isabel Capuz | Young person from Ambato

 

“I attended a panel earlier with organisations that are interested in food security, such as Urban Futures. It was amazing to get to know all the programmes that are involved in food security in the United Nations countries.”

– Miguel Angel Ocampo | Young person from Envigado

 

“The most interesting person I’ve met at WUF works in animal welfare. I don’t know how to pronounce her name but I’m going to meet her later. She’s a veterinarian in New York City.”

– Audrey Pahayahay | Young person from Baguio

 

 

 

 

How has S2Cities prepared you for WUF?

 

“There were a lot of learnings and workshops that have helped us to build our capacities to promote different kinds of projects that impact our cities in a positive way.”

– Miguel Angel Ocampo | Young person from Envigado

 

“The learnings and support from S²Cities was something wonderful that helped us as a team. Today we are here as a group participating and demonstrating what we as young people can do today, and now!”

– Fabricio Alejandro Naranjo | Young person from Cuenca

 

“I led some activities in the public space in Ambato for our initiatives. That prepared me to be more confident, and to talk in public. Before, it was a fear for me, but not anymore.”

– Heidy Zamora | Young person from Ambato

 

“For me, S²Cities prepared us by giving training on how to socialize, on conversing with other people. We also learnt skills to know the needs of people from other countries and meet diverse groups of people.”

– Audrey Pahayahay | Young person from Baguio

 

“The capacity strengthening has helped me understand better about the ways and goals of S²Cities. It helped me understand my city better and have a better connection in my community. These experiences prepared me to share my learnings with other youth at WUF12.”

– Cyrus Amante Lin | Young person from Naga   

 

“The programme involved preparing us for a hackathon. They have been preparing us on how to speak in public, how to develop our ideas. When we arrived in Egypt, they supported us with a one-day session in English, which is how we have to communicate here.”

– Nicolas Cedillo | Young person from Cuenca

 

The experiences of youth leaders at WUF12 demonstrate the value of creating spaces for young voices in global conversations on urban development. By sharing these reflections, we hope to inspire more young people to participate in urban development processes, and encourage institutions to create more opportunities for youth leadership!

Further Reading