In partnership with the Ministry of National Education, the Minister of Youth, the Youth Development Initiative (IDEJEN) and Generation Without Limits, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) organizes in Port-au-Prince, a Forum for Teenagers and Youth on Employability (August 29-30). 150 participants, including teenagers and young people from the country's 10 departments, as well as representatives of national and international associations and organizations, come together to discuss, among other things, vocational training, leadership, entrepreneurship and technological and technological innovations and social.

Realizing the rights of these young people and investing in their development helps to strengthen their full participation in the life of the nation. Generation Without Limits (the global partnership launched on 24 September 2018 by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore), which brings together public and private partners, focuses on three priorities : secondary education; skills for learning, employability and decent work; and finally empowerment, especially for girls.

In Haiti, 54% of the population is under the age of 25, 31% of them in the 10 to 24 age group. With such a demographic weight, investing in young people could help produce convincing results for Haiti's future. Through this exchange meeting, adolescents and young people will understand the role they must play and give their opinion as agents of change. According to a survey launched in August through U-Report, 44% of young people feel that their opinion is not taken into account in their community, 26% believe that they are discriminated against or excluded from decision-making while 44% are worried about unemployment.

"The forum responds to a demand from adolescents and young people to contribute to the development of their nation. Trained and equipped young people are a great asset, a window of opportunity to maximize their chances of becoming productive actors in their community [...]" said Maria-Luisa Fornara, UNICEF Representative in Haiti.

The Teenagers and Youth Forum is a prelude to the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Haiti in 1995, which guarantees every child who is capable of discernment the right to express freely his opinion on any question that interests him. At the end of this forum, young people will have a better understanding of learning opportunities and employability, which will enable them to reach their full potential.

HL/ HaitiLibre