{"id":44864,"date":"2019-06-21T14:31:36","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T13:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=44864"},"modified":"2019-06-25T15:11:56","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T14:11:56","slug":"zosia-kmietowicz-young-people-at-conferences-not-including-them-is-unethical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/06\/21\/zosia-kmietowicz-young-people-at-conferences-not-including-them-is-unethical\/","title":{"rendered":"Zosia Kmietowicz: Young people at conferences\u2014not including them is unethical"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"zosiak\"<\/a>A lasting memory from the Women Deliver<\/a> conference in Vancouver in early June was the abundance of young people. Katja Iversen, CEO of the gender equality and female health organisation, said that their presence was a deliberate move and has been a feature of the event since the inaugural conference in 2007. <\/span><\/p>\n

Women Deliver runs a young leaders programme with a digital university where advocates from around the world receive training. In the last recruitment drive there were 3000 applications for the 300 places. Past and present young leaders are invited to the three yearly conference, many on scholarships. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe conference is not just about the already leaders. It’s really people from all walks of life,\u201d said Iversen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There were some 1550 young people at this year\u2019s event out of the 8000 attendees. Iversen said that including young people in every aspect of the conference\u2014from organising the agenda to deciding who should speak at plenaries\u2014brings new perspectives to proceedings. \u201cIt\u2019s their world and they have a vested interest. If they’re not in on the decisions they don\u2019t get the world they want,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the question of what she would say to other conference organisers and the involvement of young people, Iversen was unequivocal\u2014not doing so was unethical. \u201cDo it. It\u2019s as simple as that. It\u2019s the only right thing for them. Because if you’re serious about what you do you involve young people and if you’re focused on the future you involve young people. It takes effort and it takes time and you can never do it as a token. It\u2019s also about sharing the power. Everybody gets more powerful from it,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Power was the theme of this year\u2019s conference and there were some impressive examples of young leaders who had got the memo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyone who attended the opening plenary <\/a><\/span>knows that Natasha Mwansa<\/a>, a 19 year old student from Zambia, is a president in the making. She out-charmed Canada\u2019s prime minister Justin Trudeau, himself an effusive charmer, and stole the limelight on the stage that she shared with three other presidents: Kenya\u2019s Uhuru Kenyatta, Ghana\u2019s Nana Akufo-Addo, and Ethiopia\u2019s president Sahle-Work Zewde.<\/span><\/p>\n