UNICEF Young People Advisory Board
Empowering children and young people.
- Available in:
- English
- ไทย
About Young People Advisory Board (YPAB)
The Young People Advisory Board (YPAB) is an incredibly important resource for UNICEF Thailand, providing valuable insight into the planning, implementation, and monitoring of UNICEF's priority initiatives. It is essential that the voices of young people are heard and taken into account in policy making, especially those of the most vulnerable and marginalized. The YPAB offers advice on topics such as health and wellbeing, education and school to work/higher education transition, employability, violence against children, youth participation, and climate change.
The YPAB creates platforms and opportunities for young people to build their confidence and skills, express their views, connect, and exchange with one another. This allows young people to influence UNICEF Thailand's work, making UNICEF more participatory, relevant, and effective for young people in Thailand.
How does the Young People Advisory Board Work?
In 2023, the YPAB is comprised of 51 young people from across Thailand, aged between 10-23 years old, who possess practical experience on their topics of interest.
YPAB members commit to being actively involved for one year and participate in activities in the following areas:
- UNICEF Country Programme: They inform and influence the work of UNICEF in Thailand, especially the programme design, monitoring, and evaluation of the next country programme.
- Advocacy: YPAB members work with UNICEF to seek opportunities to share and amplify the voice of young people and participate in UNICEF's advocacy initiatives at local, national, regional, and global levels. YPAB also supports the development of content and campaign materials targeted at young people and contributes to the dissemination of key messages through digital platforms.
- Partnerships: YPAB members help identify dynamic, like-minded youth groups, organizations, and networks that could join UNICEF's cause and support the implementation of UNICEF's programmes for children and adolescents.
- Direct engagement with young people: YPAB members share ideas with other young people to identify emerging issues in young people's lives through focus group discussions, interviews, polls, and more.
Members are divided into six focus areas, based on their issue of interest:
- Health and Wellbeing
- Education and school to work/high education transition
- Employability
- Violence against children
- Youth participation
- Environment/Climate Change
The YPAB and UNICEF Thailand engage in regular communication via:
- YPAB Leadership and Advocacy camp.
- Capacity building and networking sessions.
- Ad-hoc meetings.
- Virtual communication through e-mails, LINE, or other social media groups.
