One 6 ... and Nine 0's.

Young people want to participate in important United Nations meetings on population and development because the outcome directly concerns their future.

A simple enough statement.

In The Hague on February 1999, young people came together at the Youth Forum that was held just before. The Hague Forum of Governments, where ministers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) assessed the progress made in the field of population issues since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. At the Youth Forum, young people from all over the world were given the opportunity to express their opinions and say what they considered important to create sustainable population and development. They then presented their views in a report to their national delegations and NGOs. Their hope is to have their needs, as expressed in the report, translated into practical national policies and legislation supporting young people's development and rights.

Jelena Zajeganovic, a 26-year-old medical student from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and a member of the international Federation of Medical Students Associations, says: "When the issues concern young people, then young people have to be involved ... to get to say what they want."

Many like her want to learn how policies are made and desperately hope to have a voice in the process. "Young people can express very concrete actions that can be done. They can design programmes, implement them and evaluate them. What's important is getting the resources, peer education and communication among young people", says Ms. Zajeganovic.

Ms. Zajeganovic also suggests that every United Nations agency should have a focal point for youths. "There should be room for young people. The UN needs new energy in order to change their policies quicker. ... There should not be any fear of young people's quick thinking."