NewsHour Extra covers the conference with Global Kids and Manhattan Neighborhood Network

Video from
Durban

Diaries from Durban

Diaries by
Dezroy "Dez" B.

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Day 1

Diaries from Durban
Dezroy "Dez" B.
Global Kids

I have been just stressed out. Stressed out over the fact that we, the youth, are here to be heard and still we have not been heard.

The United Nations definition of youth is 30 and under, and because of this I am confused.

How should I address someone between 21 and 30? Should I address them as a youth or as an adult. This is very unclear to me, and to most twentysomething's following the youth summit.

Another issue I have is that most of the chair people are men, and this is unfair to the women. Most of the men are acting like they have a lot of power and they are NOT respecting other people and their opinions.

I believe this is a major issue. I think they need to respect everyone's opinion and they can do this by showing they are listening, and give everyone an equal chance to express themselves.

Many of the youth feel the United Nations is disrespecting the Youth Summit and the youth meetings following the NGO(Non-Governmental Organizations) Forum, because no translator was issued.

The United Nations has provided translation services to all of the other meetings at the NGO forum and the WCAR (World Conference on Human Rights), but the youth have had to provide for their own translation from youth volunteers.

This is one of the reasons why there are so many problems in the youth meetings.

Since the day I entered Durban, South Africa, the adults are all saying the same thing: "Youths are the next generation. Youths are the future." So if we are the future and they are the present, why isn't the future being heard?

Why is the future being neglected? It is very tough for youth like me that have traveled so far and other youth that have traveled even further than I have.

What I am saying is, if we are the bright future of the world, let the future speak!!!

If we could be heard, what we'd say might sound like this:

We want proper education, we want full representation in all United Nations events, we want the United Nations documents created at the NGO forum and WCAR to be written in an accessible language youth can understand. We want the Convention on the Rights of the Children to be ratified by the U.S. and Somalia.

We want this World Conference Against Racism to be the start of the end of racism, so our children and the next generation
younger than us can grow up equally and won't have to
experience the discrimination and segregation we
experienced.