FUNDING Each year, the Social Forum, which is convened by the HRC, provides a unique space for open and interactive dialogue between civil society actors, representatives of Member States and intergovernmental organizations on a theme that is chosen by the Council. The 2019 Social Forum gathered together over 600 participants to engage on topics related to the promotion and protection of the rights of children and youth through education. The Special Fund was used to promote the participation of seven representatives from India, Jamaica, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Slovenia and the Syrian Arab Republic. KRISTEENA MONTEITH: “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE” Kristeena Monteith. © OHCHR Kristeena Monteith, 25, was born and raised in Jamaica. Today, she is the creative producer of a youth-led radio show called “Talk Up Radio.” The show is broadcast from the country’s only radio station, which is run entirely by a staff of people under the age of 25. Their mission is to use youth media to raise youth voices and engage and empower young people to speak about their rights. She believes that many issues facing youth in the world come down to a lack of creativity or an ignorance of culture. “When we are more aware of other people and other cultures, we have a gateway to understanding humanity.” She has also been appointed as a UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals. Monteith maintains that people who are more in tune with their own culture have a greater respect for others. “If a young person understands the hybrid nature of being human, then they are able to respect other’s rights and their own. Once a person can say, “I am inherently valuable and my culture is one of the ways I can understand my value,” then it is really a short step from there to understanding the gravity of human rights atrocities.” Speaking at the Social Forum in Geneva, which focused on children, youth and education in 2019, Monteith addressed the urgent need to adapt education in the context of the climate crisis and human rights abuses. She called on policymakers to think with a long term, sustainable vision about the way education is designed and to take into account the fact that we are facing a future that is not climate resilient. Monteith also questioned the current digital focus in school curricula. “It doesn’t make sense that we are all tech savvy but then have no energy or no planet. We need to design education in a way that recognizes these problems are enormous and require systemic action. It is incumbent on us to use education in a way that will make it accessible for young people everywhere in the world.” UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2019 129