Minister Cannon pledges financial support to new UNICEF initiative
Press release
12 April 2019
Minister Cannon pledges financial support to new UNICEF initiative
The Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Ciaran Cannon, T.D., today announced funding of €1 million to UNICEF to support its new Generation Unlimited (Gen U) initiative. At Gen U’s global board meeting held in Washington, D.C. today, Minister Cannon was appointed to the role of Gen U “Champion”.
Generation Unlimited (Gen U) is a new global, public-private partnership that aims to ensure that every young person aged 10-24 will be in school, learning, training or age-appropriate decent employment, by 2030, with a special focus on empowering young women and girls.
Gen U supports effective solutions and promising ideas on a large scale by unlocking public/private investment and engaging young people as co-creators. This in turn, enables them to learn, train and work so that they can lead meaningful, productive lives.
Speaking today, Minister Cannon said:
“Given Ireland’s deep commitment to the multilateral system, we are delighted to provide €1 million in funding to UNICEF. This will help fund key new initiatives, such as Gen U, that will help young people all over the globe meet the challenges of a changing world.
I am also honoured to accept the invitation to act as a ‘Champion’ for Gen U and will focus my efforts on ensuring that we can translate these noble aspirations into better lives for our children and succeeding generations. The funding announced today deepens Ireland’s strong support to, and for, the UN Development System. This support helps make the UN system work better for those most in need.”
In 2018, Ireland contributed over €20 million to UNICEF, which remains one of Ireland’s largest and most important development partners. Since 1993, Ireland has provided over €250m in funding to UNICEF.
ENDS
Press Office
12 April 2019
Note for editors:
- The €1 million in funding to UNICEF is in respect of its Generation Unlimited (Gen U) initiative, a key plank in UNICEF’s efforts to ensure that young people can be assisted to lead productive lives.
- For more information, see http://www.genunlimited.org/