


2019 YOUNG ACTIVISTS SUMMIT
#YAS19 was held on 10 December 2019, Human Rights Day, in the iconic Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Organized by the NGO dev.tv, the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the first Young Activists Summit welcomed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad as its guest of honour. It brought together six young female activists whose inspiring backgrounds and achievements deserve to be celebrated. The youth session and award ceremony, along with a comprehensive media plan, allowed to showcase women and girls as key drivers of progress.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad was the guest of honour of the first YOUNG ACTIVISTS SUMMIT (#YAS19), whose theme in 2019 was WOMEN AND GIRLS DRIVING PROGRESS.
2019 ACTIVISTS
VISIBILITY
- • More than 8.2 million people were reached on social media through the #YAS19 hashtag.
- • The Youth Session and Award Ceremony –livestreamed on Facebook and UNTV in French, Arabic, English, and Portuguese – brought together 19,350 people online.
- • The #YAS19 videos were viewed over 300,000 times on Facebook.
- • #YAS19 was covered by many global and local news outlets, including Euronews, BBC World Service, TV5Monde, FranceTV, l’ATS, Swissinfo, SRF, 20 minutes, MBC, 24 Heures, Le Matin, la Tribune de Genève, le Journal du Jura, A Voz da Cidade, Nyasa Times, etc.
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
- • 750 young people from the Geneva region and its surroundings took part in the Youth Session.
- • The Award Ceremony brought together 600 participants in Geneva.
- • The Summit had a very positive impact on the activists and the causes they advance. Some examples include: - Following the Summit, the government of Malawi addressed formal congratulations to Memory Banda on her work against child marriage, which helped her gain credibility in her home country. - Additional funding was raised after the event, as a result of the participation of key stakeholders in the Summit at the Palais des Nations. - Hamangaí Pataxó, Memory Banda and Rebecca Kabuo were invited to take part in global events and campaigns. - Kids Against Plastic launched its ‘Kids Against Plastic Brazil’ initiative. - Hamangaí Pataxó is now featured in Brazilian textbooks.
DONATIONS
To support the 2020 Activists in advancing their causes, Sisley Paris generously granted a donation to each laureate, thus enabling the Young Activists Summit to have a concrete and long-lasting impact on the ground.
ORGANIZED BY
United Nations Office at Geneva
RTS, Radio Télévision Suisse
dev.tv, non-profit NGO of media professionals
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Mécénat Sisley
Fondation Hélène et Victor Barbour
Oak Foundation
Fondation Tellus Viva
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Swiss Confederation
OHCHR, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Republic and State of Geneva
City of Geneva
The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Permanent Mission of Canada
European Union
UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund
Fight for Humanity
Tataki RTS
WITH THE KIND SUPPORT OF
MCI group
InterContinental Genève
Eduki
Act on your Future
UN Women
UNE® SA
Cabinet Privé de Conseils
em4
Frontline Defenders
Yan Luong digital communication
Abena Lauber fundraising & capacity building
William Boley risk management professional