THE COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE
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! Y20 Delega6ons agree on final recommenda6ons for the G20! !
Policy Innova,on e.V. is happy to provide interested stakeholders with the final recommenda,ons from the Youth 20 (Y20) Delega,ons to the G20. The Y20 is the official plaForm for young people from across the Group of Twenty (G20) countries to have their voices heard on the most pressing global economic challenges.
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This year’s Y20 Summit was held from the 12th -‐ 15th July 2014 in Sydney as part of Australia’s Presidency of the G20. A diverse group of extraordinary young leaders from across G20 countries came together to iden,fy the pressing global economic challenges facing young people, engage in substan,ve policy discussions and generate innova,ve solu,ons which will be presented to the G20 for considera,on in their discussions.
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Delega,ons from more than twenty countries discussed recommenda,ons that focus on three major topics: Global Ci,zenship, Growth and Jobs Crea,on, Sustainable Development. The final recommenda,ons of the delegates on these topics can be found in the aVached official declara,on.
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Videos, pictures and impressions from the summit in Sydney and more informa,on on the Y20 can be accessed on the official summit website: hVp://www.y20australia.com
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More informa,on on the German Delega,on to the Y20, the German organizing team and the project itself can be found at: hVp://www.policy-‐innova,on.org
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Policy Innova,on e.V. is a registered German non-‐profit NGO, run mainly by German students, that organizes and facilitates the par,cipa,on of the German Delega,on to the Y8 and Y20 Summits. Among a variety of tasks, Policy Innova,on e.V. is responsible for the Germany-‐wide recruitment process, facilitates the selec,on of the candidates and prepares the Delega,ons over a period of four months prior to the summit. The prepara,on encompasses two workshops that include mee,ngs with the office of the German Sherpa and various Federal Ministrier as well as NGO representa,ves. In addi,on, Policy Innova,on e.V. is ac,vely fundraising money in order to provide every par,cipant with financial support to help cover the par,cipa,on fee and flight costs.
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Y20 Australia 2014 Delegates’ Declara6on We, the delegates of the 2014 G20 Youth Summit; Convened in Sydney on 12-‐15 July 2014 to discuss growth and job crea,on, global ci,zenship and mobility, and sustainable development; Welcomed the Australian Presidency’s support for engaging youth in G20 decision making; Adopted the policy recommenda,ons contained in this Communique by majority support – in addi,on to three priority policy recommenda,ons in June – having developed them in commiVees and sought to accommodate the views of all delegates. We therefore propose that G20 leaders: Improve economic incen6ves to promote youth employment and investment by: • Providing economic and regulatory incen,ves (such as tax and credit incen,ves) based on each country's specific needs through a collabora,on of governments, banks, and the private sector for employers hiring youth in full-‐,me posi,ons or in structured and paid internships. • Increasing public investment in gender inclusive, resilient and sustainable infrastructure and promo,ng the crea,on of Special Economic Zones to foster growth through development banks and public private partnerships. Promote balanced economic growth by enhancing rural areas’ development with a youth-‐centric approach through: • Building the capacity of youth especially in rural areas by focusing on skill development, voca,onal educa,on and appren,ceships to match the labour demand of local enterprises. • Crea,ng partnerships with academic, industrial and technological hubs, and the private sector to enhance knowledge transfer with mentorship programmes for young entrepreneurs and inputs for educa,onal curriculum design. • Promo,ng investment in labour intensive industries (such as agriculture) that employ youth in rural areas and crea,ng a suppor,ve rural-‐urban linkage through reliable infrastructure. Enhance coordina6on of the public and private sectors to promote economic opportuni6es and access to capital for SMEs and youth entrepreneurs by: • Decreasing cost of financing and fostering access to complementary financing channels by (i) suppor,ng the crea,on of SME fund porFolios; (ii) promo,ng microcredit and crowd-‐funding. • Encouraging and incen,vising SMEs in achieving sustainable growth prac,ces through (i) tax breaks to increase R&D and innova,on; (ii) non-‐financial ra,ngs with emphasis on par,cipa,on of youth, women and vulnerable groups. • Facilita,ng trade within domes,c economies and interna,onal markets (e.g. youth commerce chambers, development banks).
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Ensure an inclusive and fair labour market based on upheld social standards as well as a stronger par6cipa6on of women in the workforce by: • Working towards a set of non-‐discriminatory welfare standards (minimum wage, pension and unemployment insurance). • Commiing to prevent the abuse of irregular employment especially within temporary work and sub-‐contractual employment. • Ensuring equal opportuni,es for economic par,cipa,on of women across sectors within both the developed and the developing world; encouraging flexible working arrangements and suppor,ng facili,es that cater to mothers and young families. Strengthen states’ capacity to face the financial and fiscal challenges ahead by: • Addressing the nega,ve impacts of specula,ve financial transac,ons on growth and employment, by: (i) Evalua,ng the risk of non-‐banking financial ins,tu,ons and developing pruden,al requirements; (ii) Fostering transparency and compe,,on among CRAs; (iii) Ensuring the sustainability of sovereign debt restructuring processes by discouraging predatory transac,ons (e.g. vulture funds). • Tackling an,-‐compe,,ve behaviours, including: preven,ng tax-‐evasion-‐planning by implemen,ng common accoun,ng standards, puing collec,ve pressure on non-‐coopera,ve jurisdic,ons and increasing transparency related to interna,onal taxable transac,ons and corporate ownership. Promote labour mobility through social security agreements to: • Ensure access to affordable healthcare for migrant workers who have sa,sfied minimum eligibility requirements. • Increase and simplify portability of pensions between countries. Priori6se ini6a6ves to enhance access to global educa6on and skills training, through: • Strengthening the B20/G20 Global Appren,ceship Network in order to provide relevant educa,on and skills development and match youth with prospec,ve employers. • Developing governmental and public-‐private programmes through which financial and visa assistance for educa,on is provided to qualifying students in exchange for a commitment to work for the home country sponsor for an agreed period of ,me. Create a framework to address barriers to the labour mobility of students and young professionals across the globe, including: • Accredita,on of educa,onal qualifica,ons and diplomas, content of courses, grading systems and an informa,on portal for jobs skills requirements. • Making visa procedures simple, transparent, objec,ve and non-‐discriminatory through electronic applica,ons with reduced costs.
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Promote open and fair internet access and encourage e-‐learning through: • Ensuring that access to the internet is extended, with educa,on on internet use secured, in par,cular to youth. • Developing online courses based on local labour requirements with the support of increased public and private funding. • Commiing to net neutrality laws, which guarantee the internet’s power to connect, inform and empower by ensuring internet providers do not discriminate, and that no byte of informa,on is priori,sed over another, as long as the content is compliant with na,onal legisla,on. Promote poli6cal and social engagement by developing and strengthening mechanisms through which youth can par6cipate in and influence decision-‐making processes, including by: Ins,tu,onalising youth engagement forums at the local, regional and na,onal levels, including youth representa,on in public policy delibera,ons. Promo,ng coopera,on between official G20 engagement groups. Enhancing con,nuity and accountability between past, current, and future presidencies of the Y20 through suppor,ng a troika system. Mainstream sustainable development within the three integrated dimensions in all G20 commiWees and policy outcomes, including in collabora6on with the private sector and civil society by: • Endorsing Sustainable Development Goals as a universally relevant agenda based on the principle of Common but Differen,ated Responsibili,es with goals aimed at poverty eradica,on and sustainable development reform, and inclusion of vulnerable groups. • Suppor,ng the design and effec,ve na,onal implementa,on of curricula based on sustainable development at all levels of educa,on and voca,onal learning, incorpora,ng innova,ve models. • Streamlining gender across the G20 focal areas, with the understanding that women’s empowerment is key to sustainable development, job crea,on and driving economic growth. • Integra,ng the UN vulnerability index with GDP to create a more holis,c na,onal indicator of inequity and economic growth. Close the global infrastructure gap by: • Developing na,onal strategies for responsible and safe waste management, monitoring and reduc,on at all levels (produc,on, post-‐produc,on, and consump,on). • Paying special aVen,on to guaranteeing access for vulnerable groups, especially in ensuring opportuni,es for local economic s,mula,on and transforma,on. • Crea,ng an equitable assessment of vulnerability, such as through the eight measures of the UN Vulnerability Index. • Including local governments, indigenous groups and civil society as partners for efficient investment management. www.policy-innovation.org
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Promote food produc6on systems and trade liberalisa6on that achieve sustainable development and ensures food security and safety by: • Protec,ng small and medium scale farming from land grabbing and support them via research on sustainable and resource-‐efficient methods, for example by ensuring equitable alloca,on of adequate resources (land, water, agri-‐inputs). • Promo,ng investment for research and providing educa,onal and technological facili,es to disseminate this research. • Promo,ng the rediscovery of local, na,ve and tradi,onal varie,es of plants, species and seeds and ensuring universal, low-‐cost access to safeguard biodiversity and reducing transporta,on and storage pollu,on. • Securing free and universal access to safe water and establishing efficient water management policies for food produc,on systems. Recognise the importance of universal access to efficient, secure and sustainable energy sources to ensure a basic standard of living, a compe66ve economy and the mi6ga6on of climate change, in accordance with na6onal priori6es by: • Removing or redirec,ng policies that increase the economic, environmental and social costs of producing and supplying energy to household, farming and industrial consumers. • Demonstra,ng leadership by reviewing na,onal energy policies, promo,ng renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency in public procurement and suppor,ng entrepreneurs to develop innova,ve low-‐impact energy solu,ons. • Increasing the efficiency of the energy supply chain, par,cularly in urban areas. • Expanding energy access in rural areas and least developed regions. • Encouraging diversifica,on of na,onal energy sources through R&D for increasing the efficiency and safety of conven,onal energy produc,on and development of new energy sources. Implement Disaster Risk Management adapta6on measures by: • Increasing financing, with regard to na,onal capacity, for Disaster Risk Management (DRM); forging partnerships with urban centres and local popula,ons for job crea,on and growth; and suppor,ng recovery from and mi,ga,on of unavoidable natural disasters – par,cularly for the urban poor, minority groups and countries in special situa,ons. • Developing a DRM financing mechanism by establishing sustainable and disaster-‐proof infrastructure and improving access to recovery funds for groups vulnerable to disaster. • Suppor,ng plaForms that facilitate the exchange of relevant knowledge (in accordance with intellectual property rights) and risk assessment with regards to DRM and infrastructure development. • Create a tangible interna,onal strategy and domes,c recogni,on for climate change displacement, par,cularly for Small Island Developing States.
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Y20 Australia 2014 Delegates’ Priority Recommenda6ons We, the delegates of the 2014 G20 Youth Summit, developed these priority recommenda,ons and presented them to G20 Sherpas and Finance Depu,es in June 2014. We propose that G20 Leaders: Support Youth Entrepreneurship by: • Encouraging entrepreneurship amongst youth by enhancing and leveraging exis,ng programmes aimed at valuing start-‐up ini,a,ves, including: promo,ng entrepreneurial educa,on in secondary and university educa,on; fostering academic collabora,on in skills training; crea,ng entrepreneurship contests; rewarding the crea,on of start-‐up incubators and resul,ng project launches; and inves,ng in government-‐backed youth entrepreneurship support services, which youth-‐led start-‐ups can consult with on legal and financial issues. • Reducing or delaying start-‐up costs for young entrepreneurs by offering fiscal incen,ves for youth-‐ run start-‐ups as well as reducing bureaucra,c hurdles to the set-‐up, financing and expansion of start-‐ ups. • Designing micro-‐credit and credit programs within the framework of a na,onal development strategy and according to each country’s priori,es. This should include fostering public and private investments in youth entrepreneurs who cover strategic industries that could make a strong contribu,on to economic growth, including to achieving the two percent growth target above current projec,ons over five years. Improve Labour Mobility by: • Removing policies that excessively impede youth mobility, including: easing access to work and academic visas via mutual recogni,on of professional qualifica,ons/diplomas; easing occupa,onal licensing through a simplified bureaucra,c framework; easing distor,onary housing policy; and extending foreign students' visas up to one year amer gradua,ng to ease the search for employment. • Encouraging periodical review of migra,on and immigra,on policies, based on the present and future employment needs of the labour market and the socio-‐poli,cal dynamics within all involved receiving and sending countries. • Mi,ga,ng the impact of 'brain drain', while promo,ng youth labour mobility, by suppor,ng young migrants who are seeking to invest in their home country through fiscal agreements between countries and reducing the cost of remiVances. In parallel, support migrant return programmes and knowledge exchange and coopera,on for returnees. Protect Youth Jobs and Promote Decent Employment by: • Addressing youth unemployment as a priority in their country ac,on plans. We recommend the inclusion of youth employment targets within country plans, and the adop,on of a common set of youth unemployment metrics. G20 governments should undertake cri,cal evalua,on of exis,ng youth employment ini,a,ves and scale-‐up successful programmes which could include partnerships between universi,es, businesses, communi,es and government.
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• Promo,ng the crea,on of programmes aimed at securing jobs, in accordance with each country's possibili,es. This could be achieved by building coopera,on and nego,a,on mechanisms so that employers and employees could discuss alterna,ve measures in order to prevent job losses that would further increase rates of unemployment and youth unemployment (i.e., reducing working hours or applying for wage subsidies). • Guaranteeing decent employment condi,ons for youth, in line with the spirit of respec,ng social and labour rights by considering implemen,ng ‘intern accords’ to prevent the risk of interns being exploited. In these B20/G20 accords, we ask that employers of interns respect minimum wage standards; explicitly lay out work demands and learning opportuni,es (especially through formal training at the start of the internship agreement); and design a professional development plan for trainees.
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