Young Dominican leader brings the voice of the community to the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

New York.- Representatives of World Vision Latin America participated in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City from July 9 to 18.

In this meeting, Kharen Lorena Abreu, 17, originally from Jimaní, was representing the Dominican Republic as part of the Official Delegation regarding the children’s and youth perspective on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), being this country together to Mexico the only ones that included boys and girls in their delegations.

Kharen Lorena took the main stage during the presentation of the National Voluntary Progress Report on the SDGs of the country, together with the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Development, Dr. Isidoro Santana and the other members of the Delegation. In this way, World Vision makes an important contribution in the direction that the voice of children and adolescents be heard in the spaces of the greatest global importance in terms of decision-making regarding public policies.

The teenager Kharen Lorena belongs to the National Youth Infant Protagonists Movement, a Network sponsored by World Vision in different parts of the country that brings together more than 4,000 children, adolescents and young people from 6 to 25 years old, and whose purpose is the enforceability of their rights, as well as the promotion of public policies and laws favorable to Dominican children, adolescents and youth.

Prior to participating in the Forum, the adolescent held a meeting with the Director-General of Economic and Social Development of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, Roberto Liz, where they discussed the content of the Official Report regarding the issue of childhood, the role of the Official Delegation and about her expectations as a teenager.

During his presentation in the interconnected SDG space to not leave any children behind, which was attended by a representation of the Official Delegations of the Latin American States, including the Dominican Republic, Karen Lorena declared that “An inclusive community for me is one that cares about the welfare, development, and safety of all children and adolescents in the face of any type of risk or violence ”.

“I believe that the rights of children must be guaranteed regardless of who they are. We have done a lot but it is still not enough since we still have communities where children and adolescents do heavy work, suffer violence and have difficulty accessing studies, ”explained Karen Lorena.

The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development has the participation of states from all over the world, and they meet every year under the coordination of the Economic and Social Council, a platform on sustainable development of the UN.

This forum is the space for the highest level of discussion, review, and evaluation of the public policies of the countries for the achievement of the SDGs and has a central role in monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The theme of this edition was “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”, from July 10 to 18, Lorena had the opportunity to participate.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian development organization, dedicated to working with children, youth, their families and communities to reduce poverty and injustice. We are dedicated to working with the most vulnerable people in the world, regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

• Related: World Vision certifies 46 people on Children’s Rights and Political Advocacy