USYDI Receiving Dozens of Support Letters Daily

In the last 48 hours, the USYDI has received the support of individuals and organizations ranging from prestigious law firms to current UN Youth Delegates around the world. Check out the “Our Supporters” page for more info!
US-YDI quadruples in size, looks forward to next few months

This past Sunday, October 31st, the United Youth Delegate Initiative had their first official meeting with their new lobbying team. With over 25 additional members, the US-YDI has more than quadrupled in size. In the meeting, President Joseph Gibson reviewed the training schedule for the upcoming months, US-YDI standards, lobbying strategies, and funding goals before [...]
BREAKING NEWS: Official Proposal Published

The US-YDI’s official proposal has been published! Please visit here to see the full text.
Untitled from Joseph Gibson on Vimeo.

Global Discussion with UN Secretary General
UN Youth Delegates: Why They Matter

Participation in decision-making is one of the key priority areas of the United Nations agenda on youth. One form of youth participation at the United Nations is through the inclusion of youth delegates in a country’s official delegation to the United Nations General Assembly and various functional Commissions of the Economic and Social Council.The youth [...]

Welcome!

Welcome to the new US-YDI website! The US-YDI is the primary youth organization leading the initiative to establish the position of US Youth Delegate to the UN. On this site, you can connect with both the US-YDI team and prospective first youth delegate and US-YDI President Joe Gibson. You can also find information on our mission and outreach. For comments, suggestions, or strategic partnerships, please reach out to us on the contact us page. Thanks for visiting, and check back soon for more news!

- Angela Schöpke, Vice President

About Us

The US-YDI has two levels of involvement, consultant and member status. Our consultant group consists of hundreds of youth from around the globe, with expertise in areas as varied as sociocultural anthropology, media studies, and political science. These young people act as experts both on their region and area of knowledge, and greatly contribute to [...]

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Our Mission

Note: For the full copy of our official proposal, please click here. The United States Youth Delegate Initiative (USYDI) has two primary objectives: Establish the position of United States Youth Delegate to the United Nations within the US Permanent Delegation to the UN. Support the first and future Youth Delegates in their mission to [...]

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The Delegate

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Youth Delegates

Statement from USYDI President Welcome to the USYDI page, thank you for your interest and support of our mission! It continues to be my great honor and responsibility to represent the interests and opinions of American youth and young adults on the world stage. When I first began lobbying for the creation of a US [...]

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Our Mission

Note: For the full copy of our official proposal, please click here.

The United States Youth Delegate Initiative (USYDI) has two primary objectives:

Establish the position of United States Youth Delegate to the United Nations within the US Permanent Delegation to the UN.
Support the first and future Youth Delegates in their mission to represent American youth at the UN.

The USYDI strives to achieve its goal of creating the Youth Delegate position through the successful lobbying of the Senate, House, and the US Department of State. By unifying all the major youth organizations in the United States behind this cause, we are gathering enough support to convince all relevant stakeholders including the Obama administration that this position will greatly benefit both domestic and international youth involvement. By gathering the nation’s leading internationally minded youth into one movement, the USYDI will have the capacity to support US Youth Delegates with policy advice, administrative assistance, and global insight to youth-related issues.

Youth Issues

Environment

The deterioration of the natural environment is one of the principal concerns of young people worldwide as it has direct implications for their well-being both now and in the future. The natural environment must be maintained and preserved for both present and future generations. The causes of environmental degradation must be addressed. The environmentally friendly [...]

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Involvement

The capacity for progress of our societies is based, among other elements, on their capacity to incorporate the contribution and responsibility of youth in the building and designing of the future. In addition to their intellectual contribution and their ability to mobilize support, they bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account. Any [...]

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Employment

Unemployment and underemployment among youth is a problem everywhere. It is, indeed, part of the larger strug- gle to create employment opportunities for all citizens. The problem has worsened in recent years because of the global recession which has affected developing countries the most seriously. The disturbing fact is that economic growth is not always [...]

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Education

Although progress towards universal basic education, beginning with literacy, has been impressive in recent times, the number of illiterate people will continue to grow and many developing countries are likely to fall short of universal primary education by the year 2000. Three main concerns regarding current systems of education may be expressed. The first is [...]

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