Mia Farrow’s son Ronan is Hillary Clinton’s new youth adviser at the tender age of 25.Farrow represented the US government at a recent Brussels conference hosted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which is calling for further support for Palestinian refugees and a louder voice for the youth of the Middle East.
Here, he talks to Yahoo! Maktoob about setting up the Global Youth Programme for Ms Clinton and how today’s youth are taking to social media to “upset repressive regimes”, act as “the voices of conscience” and “shape a future that cuts through old enmities”.
How has your trip been so far?
It’s been a great conference, hosted by UNRWA, where we met with youth who have travelled from Palestine and the Gaza Strip, as well as the EU’s first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, the United Nations’ Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Belgian Foreign Minister, Didier Reynders. It is really something we are heavily involved in.
How long has the Global Youth Issues Office in the Department of State been around and what is your focus?
We have been building it for a year and it explores how young people drive global events. We will be implementing and amplifying youth policy. The Office of Global Youth Issues, created by Secretary Clinton, oversees an historic effort to empower young people as economic and civic actors through US programmes, to encourage governments to respond to youth through US diplomacy and directly engage young people around the world.
So how do you see the Global Youth Issues Office engaging on this, exactly?
I recently returned from some time in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, talking to young people of all walks of life. I remember talking to a 15-year-old called Doha, who I met in an English language training programme. She told me: “I’m studying so I can see all sides of the issues, not just my own." That’s an inspiring illustration for me of the potential that young people have for shaping a future that cuts through old enmities. It does not diminish the depth of the challenges, but I do think there is a fresh perspective that the young people, from this generation of new leaders in the Palestinian diaspora and refugee community, bring. One thing that Doha told me is exactly how important the kind of training she was doing is in building stepping stones to economic opportunity - and how hard it is, in some of the places that we have discussed in this conference, to find those economic opportunities.
Those are challenges that are obviously not unique to the Palestinian people or to refugees. All around the world we're seeing young people stand up strong and demand two over-arching things, however disparate the challenges. First, a voice in our communities and dignity; and second, a chance to have a legitimate livelihood to support ourselves.
So what you’re focusing on is the amplification of youth voices through social networks and the effect on Middle Eastern or North African governments?
Yes, that is the dynamic that we've seen all around the world and it's one that we know has tremendous potential for good. Young people like Doha, who are committed to cutting through old challenges with new solutions, represent some of the great champions of good governance and democracy in every region. Obviously, some of the revolutions of the last year give us great hope for the power of this generation in upsetting repressive regimes and in functioning as voices of conscience all around the world.
Similarly, on economic issues, young people are very often the backbone of recovery at a time when we need entrepreneurship and creativity to drive economic growth. But at the same time, there is that mismatch of expectation and opportunity - when young people have the training but not the jobs; when they grow up with a clear view to economic opportunities that they lack within their own borders. Through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter - they can see as never before what governance, transparency and employment looks like.
And for the youth majority all around the world - 90 percent of which is in developing countries - those dynamics can lead to a powder keg of frustration and a demographic that is among the ripest targets for recruitment by extremist elements or criminal groups. That's why the United States realised that we need to stand with young people, and partner with them to build solutions and to tap their positive potential: not just because it's the right thing, but because it's essential for our security and prosperity.
There was a financial contribution to UNRWA on this trip as well?
Yes, I was so pleased to be announcing $10million of United States funding for the UNRWA general fund. We look forward, with UNRWA and other donors, to ensuring those resources go directly towards giving people a seat at the table; towards giving them the tools so they can find employment, build solutions in their communities and have the critical education needed to be a force for change. That is as important a work as any we undertake around the world.
What do you see as the potential for the Global Youth Issues Office?
Secretary Clinton recently delivered a speech in Tunisia outlining a global refocusing on youth. To that end, we're partnering directly with youth and providing platforms through which we can hear young people's voices. In every region, we now have councils of young people steering programmes and policies that traditionally may have been dictated from Washington. That's the kind of seat at the table that we envisage for young people - tapping them not just for solutions but for challenging conversations that can change our policies for the better.
All the over the world, the United States has committed itself to programmes which empower young people to find jobs and give them voices in their communities. Having spoken to my colleagues at UNRWA, they know we envisage the same future for UNRWA's activities - with young people very much serving in a substantive role, helping to guide the activities and initiatives that are so important to empowering youth in this critical demographic.
We also - and I want to be concrete about this - want to build networks of young people who participated in these programmes who can continue to pay their skills forward and be a positive force for good.
