Representative Laura Andrea Tovar Saavedra, member of the Legislative Group of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) and president of the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of the LX State Legislature, inaugurated the Youth Meeting “May your voice be heard”, as part of the global campaign 1.8 billion youth for change 2023.
Accompanied by the president of the Board of Directors, Graciela Juárez Montes; from Master Mijail Santos Luján, Communications and Advocacy leader of the Alliance for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health; and Óscar Domínguez Castellanos, representing the director of the Institute of Sports and Recreation of the State of Querétaro (INDEREQ), Iridia Salazar Blanco; as well as councilors Mónica Hernández Amado, from Tequisquiapan; and José Manuel Sánchez Nieto, from Querétaro; in addition to representatives and young people from civil society organizations and educational institutions in the state; Representative Andrea Tovar Saavedra expressed his pleasure to receive many young people interested in topics such as the health and well-being of women, men, adolescents and young people.
He mentioned that when Mijail Santos told him about the World Adolescent Forum 2023, and the great effort made by the Alliance for Health of the World Health Organization (WHO) through the campaign of 1.8 billion young people for Despite , what he thinks is that the teenagers and young people of Querétaro should be heard, so he is grateful for the opportunity to do this event in our state.
Tovar Saavedra indicated that: “the goal is to listen to young people, but also to make a strong call to the decision-makers of the state, so that they respond to their concerns and make the action from legislation to the implementation of public policies, which “truly guarantee their rights and at the same time give them full development.”
Representative Andrea Tovar mentioned that young people today represent 16% of the world’s population; and in Mexico, young people are 30% of the total population; Therefore, the State Congress opened its doors and welcomed them so that they could freely express what the youth wanted. “As authorities or popular representatives, we have made mistakes that have historically alienated and discouraged people from participating in public affairs, especially young people. I want to tell you that this must change -or now, and that this space must not and cannot be closed to the participation of citizens again. I would like you to leave this event with the idea that your voice is important, that it is powerful and that, together with other voices, it can change the reality we live in. Let’s make his voice superior.”
During his intervention, Representative Graciela Juárez Montes, president of the Board of Directors, stressed that in the current Legislature there is no difference in colors or parties, because as deputies, they always seek the common good of society and fight from the local Congress, with more equal laws, which, he said, is shown in the establishment of the current Board of Directors, where Congresswoman Andrea Tovar is the vice president, and which is composed of four women from different political parties. “We may have differences in ideologies, but we always share, when it comes to welfare and social welfare.”
Representative Graciela Juárez stated that the doors of the Legislature are always open for young people who want to come and have their voices heard. “How can you start to participate, so that you can influence public policies? They can participate from the moment that, perhaps in the area where they live, a task will be done and a citizen’s committee must be formed, from there they can start participating; How important is the participation of citizens today in Querétaro, I think it is one of the states that we can say is a good reference, because a Secretariat of Planning and Citizen Participation has recently been created, with the aim that citizens are involved now, that now you that young people can also participate and influence public policies. What will be the result if you have an influence, if you participate, if there is a sense of belonging to these public policies? The result is transparency in the use of public resources, it is a good accountability, and participation is very important citizen that in the right of this commission, which I now lead, we are working on that law to involve the citizens, with the intention that Querétaro has a law with more participation mechanism, which allows the citizens and you to young people, who are the present and the future, that you decide, that you participate, that you are part of it, because the challenge is certainly great,” emphasized deputy Graciela Juárez.
At that time, Mijail Santos Lujan mentioned that the alliance that he represents is based on the World Health Organization, which he said works with women, men and adolescents, so that their health and well-being can improve, from a comprehensive, that is, from all the factors that affect these sectors of the population; topics such as education, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, to name a few.
“We are an alliance of 1,400 partners around the world, including governments, private sector, civil society organizations; and with these 1,400 partners, this year we decided that we will prioritize young people and young people because, as the campaign calls, 1.8 billion teenagers currently live in the world; This is a huge amount that many of the politicians, many of the governments have forgotten in their public policies, in their responses to the needs that we see; So from WHO, together with partners also from other agencies of the United Nations, we make this a global campaign, where we promote governments so that better public policies are created and have greater investment for you, for young people.
Through the use of his voice, Óscar Domínguez Castellanos, representing the director of INDEREQ, Iridia Salazar Blanco, invited the young people present to participate in this type of actions, which are organized in different areas of government, and to pass from protest to proposal. “This is what we need, we need a space where different people, with different ideas, come together for the good of the community, we need to go beyond by suggestion; Thank you very much for the invitation, and also come to INDEREQ, there are also many programs for young people, like you, who want to excel.”
