The Youth Assembly came to a close with a March and flashmob down the downtown streets of Montreal. There were three messages embedded within the March, which were; climate change, leadership powers and decision making, and human rights. The youth cheered and called out for justice to be served in different languages and came to a finish at the Palais des Congres where the World Assembly was to commence. The flashmob scenes focused on Climate Change, which was demonstrated through a group of people representing an iceberg and then slowly parts broke off and dissolved into the ground. The March ended with the message of maternal mortality as a critical issue to human rights. This was demonstrated with the youth blowing up balloons and placing them under their shirt, which represented various stages of pregnancy. They then popped the balloons simultaneously and fell to the ground showing the deaths of mothers as a result of lack of access to services and information. To learn more about this issue visit Amnesty International at http://www.amnesty.org/en/campaigns/demand-dignity/issues/maternal-mortality. The energy and importance of the March was a strong ending to an amazing two days at the CIVICUS Youth Assembly. These young leaders have demonstrated an incredible capacity to learn and engage with each other in effort to reach their common goals.

To watch some of the flashmob visit: http://www.youtube.com/takeitglobal#p/u/6/OmDi_leCdz8