Nigerian Youth SDGs Network hosts roundtable on SDG16 in Abuja

The Nigerian Youth SDGs Network Tuesday hosted a youth-focused roundtable on Goal 16 of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development otherwise known as the Sustainable Development Goals, which is about “promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

The event which took place in Abuja featured passionate and frank discussions around access to justice, the role of religion in achieving peaceful societies as well as gender-based violence (GVB) was attended by youth from diverse backgrounds whose perspectives about the issues discussed was successfully changed by the end of the round-table discussion.

“The roundtable was aimed at making youth understand issues around religious and ethnic tolerance and was able to change the perspective of those in attendance about Islam and Christianity as well as gender-based violence,” says Semiye Michael, the chair of the Nigerian SDGs Youth Network. “And it is just not about coming here to talk; we are now going to begin to take action for SDG16 by reaching out to communities where these issues exist to advocate to them.”

Since its inception less than a year ago, the Nigerian SDGs Youth Network – which is a coalition of around 100 youth-led and youth-focused Nigerian civic organisations working around the SDGs – has successfully hosted series of youth-focused roundtables and high-level forums across Nigeria aimed at creating awareness, advocacy and engagement about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which came into being in 2015.