Vol. 6, No. 4, April 2009
WELCOME to the UN Youth Flash, a service of the United Nations Programme on Youth to keep you informed about the work of the UN on youth issues. You are encouraged to use and forward the information below to other networks. This update is prepared with input from UN offices, agencies, funds and programmes.
DOUBLE FEATURE: YOUTH SPEAK OUT TO INTERNATIONAL LEADERS
The youth voice rang loud and clear during the month of April as youth in both hemispheres presented their views to international leaders on issues of cultural dialogue, social cohesion, youth empowerment and sustainable socioeconomic development.
The Youth Event of the 2nd Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations on 4-5 April brought nearly 100 youth together in Istanbul, Turkey, to ensure that youth could contribute to its aim to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religion. In Port of Spain, Trinidad, more than 300 young entrepreneurs and youth leaders came together on 15-16 April for the Youth Forum of the Americas.
Both meetings saw the youth perspective being fed into the larger political processes shaping development policies at the local, regional and international levels.
Youth at the 2nd Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations
Young People of the Americas: Speakinig Loud and Clear
- NEWS FROM UN OFFICES
- YOUTH IN ACTION
- PUBLICATIONS
- CALENDAR OF EVENTS
IOM:
PLURAL+ Launched at AoC Forum in Istanbul, Turkey
IOM and Partners Address Youth Employment and Migration
UNESCO:
Calling all Governments and Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean
UNICEF:
Competition for Young People to Participate in the 2009 Junior 8 Summit
"Actioning the Youth Agenda" in Fiji
Call for Applications! 6th Summer Academy on "Energy and the Environment"
Call for Papers Extended: Conference in Children and Youth in MENA Cities
Global Youth Advisory Panel for "Staying Alive"
Kenyan Songbird, Sara Mitaru, is the new UN-HABITAT Messenger of Truth
Young People Lobby Governments Hard at 22nd UN-HABITAT Governing Council
Youth-led Survey! Get Involved and Help UN-HABITAT to Support Youth in Cities
Youth at the Second Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations
The youth perspective loomed large at the 2nd Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) held in Turkey during the 1st week of April. The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was established in 2005, and aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions, and to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.
More than 1,000 participants gathered for the event, including several Heads of State, Government Ministers and policy makers, representatives of foundations, media representatives, grassroots leaders, and youth from around the world. The combined energy and imagination of these partners were mobilized to generate a wide range of ideas aimed at building trust and cooperation among diverse communities. Through the enlightening activities and discussions, many new partnerships were forged and key commitments were made.
The AoC Forum featured a 2-day Youth Event on 4-5 April, preceding the regular meeting. Close to 100 youth from around the world came together to discuss shared issues and formulate concrete initiatives, the outcome of which was later integrated into the larger meeting.
Participating youth provided input on the AoC Youth Strategy, which aims to mainstream the voice of youth into policies, programmes and initiatives, at the local, national and international levels, which seek to foster understanding among people from different cultures and religions. The youth also worked together to build a Global Youth Movement for the Alliance of Civilizations. The objective of this movement is to mobilize youth organizations and individuals in order to strengthen commitment to the AoC principles, which focus on trust, reconciliation and mutual respect among diverse communities, and to foster dialogue as well as highlight concrete actions advancing cross-cultural understanding. The outcomes on these deliberations will be made available to the public in June at www.unaoc.org
During the youth leg of the Forum, a framework for a planned Youth Advisory Committee was also developed. This committee which will work with the AoC on the implementation and evaluation of its Youth Strategy and help coordinate the Global Youth Movement for the Alliance of Civilizations.
The youth participants also worked to prepare concrete recommendations directed at the main Forum. The policy-oriented recommendations aimed at shaping the deliberations and outcomes of the meeting. These outcomes are available at:
http://www.unaoc.org/images/youth%20recommendations.pdf
Consideration of the youth perspective did not end with the Youth Event. Reflecting the status of youth as a core area of focus for the Alliance of Civilizations, a number of sessions during the main meeting on 6-7 April were dedicated to youth. The Forum featured substantive debates about the challenges facing youth in promoting intercultural dialogue.
Two key sessions stood. One panel on youth participation pointed to the need to recognise youth as key actors and stakeholders in advancing cross-cultural understanding and dialogue. The panellists, all representatives of youth organizations, explained that young people are active agents of positive change, especially with regard to shaping a society’s response to cultural and religious diversity. However, it was felt that much remained to be done in order to reach systematic and meaningful participation from a critical mass of diverse youth. To that end, panellists shared current methods and approaches, which could be further developed to international organizations, governments and civil society for them to fully leverage and harness the role that young people play in leading social change. Highlighted initiatives included co-management, the CSD Youth Caucus, and the Youth Delegates to the United Nations.
The other key session focussed on the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) managed by the Alliance of Civilizations, which provides seed funding to outstanding youth-led initiatives that promote long-term constructive relationships between youth from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. This session provided the youth organizations with the opportunity to present an overview of the results achieved as part of their YSF-supported projects. Among the projects highlighted were:
- The Role of Youth as Citizens in the Construction of an Intercultural Society (Argentinean Youth Organization for the United Nations, Argentina)
- God and Me (No Ghetto / Respect, France)
- Capacity Building for Youth Leaders of Religious and Traditional Groups on Tolerance and Cultural Diversity for Sustained Peace and Development (Federation of Youth Clubs, Ghana)
- Capacity Building for Youth Leaders and Strengthening Youth Networking for Peace Building (Generation Peace Youth Network, Philippines)
- Interethnic Youth Alliance (Cultural Centre DamaD, Serbia)
- Speaking and Listening with Respect: Students, Faith, and Dialogue (International Movement of Catholic Students, International)
The next Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations will take place in Brazil in May 2010.
For more information on the Youth Programme at the Alliance of Civilizations, please contact Isabelle Legare, Youth Programme Manager at 1.917.367.4192 or isabellel@unops.org
(Submitted by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations)
Young People of the Americas: Speaking Loud and Clear
More than three hundred young entrepreneurs and youth leaders from the Americas gathered in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 15-16 April for the Youth Forum of the Americas.
The Youth Forum of the Americas, an official event of the Fifth Summit of the Americas, created a platform for young people to deliver their recommendations to the Hemisphere’s Heads of State and Government, meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. The Forum brought together young people from all across the Americas, to promote leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation and self-empowerment. At the crux of the forum was the recognition that the current economic crisis affects young people and requires an urgent and concerted action among governments, private sector and civil society.
Following opening statements by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, The Right Honourable Patrick Manning and OAS Secretary General H.E. Jose Miguel Insulza, participants heard presentations from various high-level officials and policymakers across the public, private and international development sectors. Speakers included representatives of the Trinidad Government OAS, the World Bank, the United Nations and the private sector.
Young people themselves were the principal actors, being present on each panel and leading the discussions towards the Youth Declaration and Plan of Action of Port of Spain, 2009. The Forum dialogues were centred on topics concerning youth entrepreneurship; the promotion of technologies for connecting the Americas; corporate social responsibility; business best practices; migration; ethics in business; opportunities for young people in the energy sector; environment; and new sources of energy development.
Leading up to the Forum, four Sub-Regional Dialogues were held in Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, Dominican Republic and Mexico, during 2008. A roundtable was also conducted in Washington, DC late last year, where youth presented their recommendations before the OAS Permanent Council about the Declaration of Commitments and the theme of this Summit: "Securing the future of our citizens through promoting human prosperity, energy security and environmental sustainability."
Four young persons presented the Youth Statement – the outcome document of the Youth Forum-at the Dialogue between Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Social Actors. This document united the opinions and recommendations of the young people of the Americas. Key paragraphs included:
“We believe that youth should play a contributory role in policy development and implementation. Embracing the fact that our communities are a reflection of the contributions made by each of its members, we are committed to finding new ways to engage our peers in making a significant impact on the social, cultural, educational, environmental and economic development of our societies”.
“…We acknowledge that this must be in conjunction with innovative learning environments that are both practical and realistic for the youth of today. We understand that we possess the necessary skills to lead entrepreneurial ventures that can assist in health promotion, wealth creation and deliver value and purpose to our communities and societies”.
“Insist on the involvement of young people in all decision making and policy formation processes, particularly on matters related to regional and national development, by consulting diverse youth entities and representatives”.
“We recognize our need to ensure clean energy availability to satisfy the demands of our hemisphere. Our societies rely heavily on non-renewable sources of energy. Our increasing consumption poses a threat to our energy security and clear-cut solutions are needed”.
“Call on our governments to include environmental sustainability learning programmes into the teaching institutions’ curricula, starting at the earliest possible level. Additionally, we require governments to implement ongoing environmental campaigns and public awareness programme son a national level.”
The Youth Forum of the Americas was organized by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), a non-governmental, non-profit organization that worked in cooperation with the Organization of American States (OAS), for this event, together with the National Secretariat for the Fifth Summit of the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, the OAS General Secretariat and international partners.
For more information, on the Youth Forum of the Americas, contact Valerie Lorena, Director, Leadership and Policy, Young Americas Business Trust vlorena@oas.org, or visit www.youngamericasforum.com or www.ybiz.net.
(Submitted by Javiera Córdova, of the Young Americas Business Trust)
NEWS FROM UN OFFICES
PLURAL + Launched at the AoC Forum in Istanbul, Turkey
PLURAL + is a media contest for youth from all over the world to submit self-produced short videos on their thoughts about migration, integration, inclusiveness and identity. Youth are encouraged to explore sub-themes such as youth migration, refugee issues, cross-cultural dialogue, diversity, human rights, and conflict prevention. Videos of any genre or style (animation, documentary, drama, etc) will be accepted in three age-based categories: 9-12 year-old; 13-17 year-old; and 18-25 year old. Winners will be announced on 18 December 2009, on the occasion of International Migrants’ Day.
PLURAL + is a joint intiative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC). More information on PLURAL + can be found on the IOM website: http://www.iom.int, or on the AoC website: http://www.unaoc.org.
IOM and Partners Address Youth Employment and Migration Challenges
Efforts are underway in Serbia to improve access to decent work for young people through better policies and programmes addressing youth employment and migration.
About 500,000 young people left Serbia between 1991 and 2001 in search of better livelihoods. In the districts of Pcinjski, South Backa and Belgrade where the programme will be carried out, it is estimated that in the last five years, more than 35% of the current youth population, have left their communities and migrated abroad.
With USD 6.1 million from the MDG Achievement Fund and USD1.9 million from the Serbian government, IOM is leading a programme targeting disadvantaged young men and women, especially Roma, and those most at risk of social exclusion and prime candidates for emigration. Additional partners include UNDP, ILO, UNICEF, line ministries and NGOs.
Calling all Governments and Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean
Have you implemented a policy or programme which benefits young people? Are you interested in having your initiative recognized, disseminated or replicated in other countries? International, and public and private sector institutions and organizations are looking to increase the impact of effective initiatives which are having a real and positive effect on young people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. To do so, best practices will be identified and disseminated in the following fields:
- Education
- Employment
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Prevention of Youth Violence
- Poverty Reduction
- Volunteer Work
- Youth Participation and Leadership
- Integral Youth Development (inter-sectoral approaches)
You are invited to complete the registration form online, in English or Spanish, at http://youthpractices.ucol.mx. The end of the call for proposals is the 26th of May 2009. No applications will be accepted after this date. Register now!
Competition for young people to participate in the 2009 Junior 8 SummitThe competition to participate in the 2009 Junior 8 Summit has now been launched.
In its fifth year, the UNICEF-organized Junior 8 summit will bring young people from G8 countries together with participants from eight non-G8 countries – including China, Brazil, India, and South Africa – sending a clear message to leaders that children from all over the world are equally affected by G8 decisions.
Participating countries will be represented by teams of 4 young people aged 14 to 17, selected through a competition process based on the question “If you had the opportunity to tell world leaders what they should do to solve global problems, what would you say?”
The primary focus of this year’s J8 will be on climate change, HIV/AIDS, as well as poverty and development in the face of the global financial crisis.
For more information, visit http://www.j8summit.com/
YOUTH IN ACTION
“Actioning the Youth Agenda” in Fiji
22 South Pacific Island countries have been invited to participate in the 2nd Pacific Youth Festival to be held in Suva, Fiji from the 11-18 July. The week long festival with the overarching theme of "Actioning the Youth Agenda" will bring over 800 youths from the region to discuss issues under five thematic areas which are:
1. Promoting Healthy Living
2. Climate Change Adaptation
3. Governance, Peace & Security
4. Pacific Identity
5. Skills for Life
The Pacific Youth Festival is a target under "Building Stronger Communities," Component 4 of the Pacific Youth Strategy 2010.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS! 6th Summer Academy "Energy and the Environment"
The 6th International Summer Academy “Energy and the Environment” will be hosted by the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at the Free University of Amsterdam, from 20-24 July 2009. Young experts from all regions of the world will come together to tackle the theme “Bridging the Divide in Global Climate Policy 2.0: From Bali to Copenhagen”
Participation is open to all young researchers and practitioners with a first university degree or significant working experience and a clear focus on climate and energy policies. Please visit the website of the Summer Academy at www.uni-greifswald.de/summeracademy for further information on the application process and a detailed programme.
Applications are due by April 30th, 2009. Late applications will only be considered subject to availability of places.
For more information, please contact Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima of the African Union Commission at: dabesaki@gmail.com
Call for papers extended: Conference on Children and Youth in MENA cities, Aleppo (Syria), 6 - 8 July, 2009
The last date for submitting the Abstracts for the 5th International Conference on Children and Youth in MENA Cities has been extended to 30th April 2009.
For more information about the conference and abstract evaluation please visit the conference website at http://www.menacpi.org/
Global Youth Advisory Panel for “Staying Alive”
To ensure that youth involvement is always at the forefront of the production and decision making of its campaign, a Regional and Global Youth Advisory Panels will be developed and implemented for MTV’s “Staying Alive”.
The youth advisers will be involved in giving feedback on “Staying Alive” content, participate in pre-testing and help come up with new initiatives for the Staying Alive campaign.
Do you have what it takes to be on the panel?
To be considered for the Youth Advisory Panel applicants must show a genuine interest in youth issues, in particular those surrounding HIV/AIDS and other sexual health topics. Applicants have to be in the 15-24 age range, have regular internet access, be committed to watching and providing feedback on MTV Staying Alive programming, and demonstrate good English communication skills.
If you meet the above criteria, and want to be on the panel, visit http://www.staying-alive.org/ for more information.
Kenyan Songbird Sara Mitaru is the new UN-HABITAT Messenger of Truth
The announcement was made during the Twenty-Second Session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT.
Sara joins a list of elite young musicians who have been inducted into the Messenger of Truth hall of fame.
The Messengers of Truth (MOT) Project was officially launched in September 2004, during the Second World Urban Forum in Barcelona, Spain. It has 3 major objectives: to inform youth living in slums and inner cities of the Millennium Development Goals through the songs and performances of socially committed Hip-Hop artists singing and rapping in different languages worldwide; to empower youth organizations worldwide by providing platforms where their voices can be heard and to help legitimize their participation in decisions that affect their livelihoods and finally; to support projects worldwide demonstrating how youth organizations have been able to solve critical social, economic and environmental problems of direct relevance to the Millennium Development Goals in their respective communities
Young people lobby governments hard at 22 UN-HABITAT Governing Council
Young people joined UN-HABITAT and its partners for a week of hard lobbying of member governments in the Governing Council that oversees the agency's work programme. Their message: with ever growing numbers of young people in the world's growing cities, young voices must be heeded.
From the opening ceremony on 30 March to the closing gavel on 3 April, youth made their presence felt, and underscored their ability to take leadership roles in their local communities, nationally and internationally.
The formal meeting of governments marked the first time youth groups were formally represented through the new UN-HABITAT Youth Advisory Board. Established at the World Urban Forum IV in Nanjing, China, the board actively engaged in policy discussions, supported the writing of resolutions, and was represented on a special dialogue panel.
For more information, visit the UN-HABITAT website at www.unhabitat.org.
Youth Led Survey! Get Involved and Help UN-HABITAT to Support Youth in Cities
UN-HABITAT is committed to supporting youth in cities. To do so they need to know more about youth organizations - so, they are asking youth organizations to help by participating in a research programme they are undertaking on youth-led organizations by filling out a survey at http://tinyurl.com/youthled. If you complete the survey, you will automatically be entered into a draw to win a new iPod.
Deadline to complete the survey is June 1st, 2009. Winners will be notified by phone or e-mail.
PUBLICATIONS
(For UN documents on youth, visit: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/library.htm)
Final Report Available: Youth Component of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee (UNESCO)
The final Report of the Youth Component of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee is now available online, along with a 10 minutes video produced by the participants on World Heritage.
Parks Canada Agency, and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, organized the youth component of the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee (UNESCO). 30 youth, aged 18-25, from Canada and around the world met to expand their knowledge of various world heritage-related aspects and issues. Participants attended various training workshops in Ottawa and Québec City, and applied the principles learned, through educational field trips to some World Heritage sites in Alberta and Newfoundland. The youth also participated in the Committee's work in Québec City from July 2 to 10, 2008.
To view the final report of the event:
http://www.unesco.ca/en/interdisciplinary/youth/documents/EnglishReportfinal.pdf
To watch the video: http://citizen.nfb.ca/youth-and-world-heritage
To contribute to the website and exchange about issues related to World Heritage: http://citizen.nfb.ca/six-billion-people-one-common-heritage
To learn more about UNESCO’s action about World Heritage Sites: http://whc.unesco.org/
The Guide to Implementing Family Skills Training Programmes for Drug Abuse Prevention (UNODC)
The Guide to Implementing Family Skills Training Programmes for Drug Abuse Prevention is now available on the UNODC website in all 6 official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).The report is also available on the UNODC Global Youth Network website at: http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_action_family.html
CALENDAR OF YOUTH EVENTS
(Please send us information on major international youth events that do not appear below)
4-6 May 2009: Vanguardia Latina Youth Forum, Los Angeles, California
Vanguardia Latina is an innovative annual forum that aims to strengthen inter-American networks. It provides an opportunity for young university students to exchange ideas on current and emerging issues at the national, regional and global levels. The Forum will also contribute to the consolidation and development of networks of young Latin American leaders (in the United States and Latin America) in order for them to develop joint proposals and common strategies for action.
Organized by EVAC (Espacio Vinculacion A.C.), the Forum brings students together with a view to developing concrete plans of action. The theme of this year’s Forum will be "The youth perspective", which will be the basis of discussions about migration, the environment, and the media, among others.
UNESCO, through its Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education selects a delegation of young people from Latin America to participate in the Forum.
For more information, please visit: http://www.esmas.com/vanguardialatina/
5-8 May 2009: World Civic Youth Forum (WCYF) 2009
The World Civic Youth Forum is an intellectual and cultural global event where college students, from around the world, gather to share and discuss global issues of common concern and search for viable solutions.
Built around the theme “Global Issues of the 21st Century and the Role of College Youth,” the WCYF will be held as part of the World Civic Forum being held concurrently in Seoul, Korea.
The WCYF will be held at the Global Campus of Kyung Hee University Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
For more information please visit the website at http://www.wcyf2009.org/
5-10 May 2009: World Creative Youth Forum (WCYF) 2009
The theme of the Forum is "Education for Sustainable Development". It will focus on Peace and Human Rights, Climate Change, Sustainable Lifestyle, Entrepreneurship, Education and Technology, and Advocacy for Sustainable Development. More information: www.worldcreativeyouthforum.net.
13-15 May 2009: IOM International Youth Conference: "Youth Against Human Trafficking" Kyiv, Ukraine
Students and young activists are invited to participate in the International Student Conference “Youth Against Human Trafficking,” to be hosted by the IOM in Kyiv, 13-15 May. The conference will focus on leadership, community involvement, volunteer workand understanding the modern-day phenomenon of trafficking.
During the three-day event, participants from Ukraine, CIS, EU, Balkan States and Turkey will learn more about youth counter-trafficking work, participate in presentations and interactive workshops facilitated by recognized experts from the leading development organizations and companies, and learn from each other’s hands-on experience.
After the conference, participants will have an opportunity to apply for small grants to implement counter-trafficking projects in their local communities and at their university campuses.
For more information, please visit http://www.iom.org.ua/?lang=en.
22 May 2009: International Day For Biological Diversity
Be part of "The Green Wave"
Through action-oriented learning, The Green Wave enables children and youth to make a difference for biodiversity. The project encourages participants to engage in local action, build friendships, work in local and international partnerships and learn about global issues affecting biodiversity. In participating schools, students learn about biodiversity and plan a special tree-planting celebration for the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) on 22 May. On IDB, students plant a native tree species, and water it at 10:00 local time, thereby creating a “green wave”, starting in the east and travelling west around the planet. Throughout the day, students upload photos, videos and text summaries to The Green Wave website to share their tree-planting story with others. An interactive map goes live at 20:10 with all The Green Wave stories. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.greenwave.cbd.int.
9-14 June 2009: Global Youth Forum in Mongolia
The Forum aims to encourage dialogue among young people to develop mutual understanding and cooperation in addressing global problems. The event is being organized by OYUNLAL-UILS, a non-governmental and non-profit organization working to promote youth development in Mongolia. Issues covered at the Forum will include environmental protection & climate change, poverty, decent work and unemployment, public health policy and HIV/AIDS, and gender equality. More information: http://www.oyunlaguils.mn/index.php?ID=7.
10-12 June 2009: The United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UNDESA-GAID) Annual Meeting in Monterrey, Mexico
The Annual Meeting of UNDESA-GAID will be a truly global event which will be attended by policy makers, United Nations high-level representatives, technologists, academics, business leaders, social entrepreneurs, the civil society and young leaders. The attendants will engage in active conversations in the field of ICT for Education and participate in interactive, multi-stakeholder panel discussions. The Monterrey event consists of the Global Forum, which will focus on ICT and Innovation for Education, the GAID’s Strategy Council and Steering Committee. In addition, several parallel events will be organized by various GAID network partners and an iMarketSpace will be set-up to create an interactive exhibit space where stakeholders from the ICT for development community can showcase and exhibit their initiatives, projects, and ideas.
GAID looks forward to the improved dynamism and innovative dialogue that youth participation brings to these proceedings.
For more information on the Annual Meeting of GAID, please visit their website:
http://www.un-gaid.org/tabid/1027/Default.aspx
11-14 June 2009: Baltic Model United Nations
The 2nd International Baltic Model United Nations for high school students around the world will focus on the theme “Building Bridges - A foundation for sustainability and progress”. You are invited to join BALMUN 2009 and to carry on the success of last year’s conference. Only 150 participants will discuss the most imminent issues of today’s world in six different committees. This makes BALMUN a more personal and intense conference. Meanwhile an independent press team will publish a daily newspaper during the time of the conference. For more information please visit: http://www.balmun.de
6-8 July: 5th International Conference on Children and Youth in MENA cities, Aleppo, Syria
Arab Urban Development Institute / Child Protection Initiative (MENA CPI) is organizing an international conference with the collaboration of Aleppo Municipality to present gained results of CPI activities within the global partnership and to share lessons learned and best practices issues related to vulnerable and marginalized children and youth in the MENA region.
The conference is intended to discuss issues facing children and youth, mainly in the fields of education, training, skill development and employment at the national, regional and the local levels in the MENA region
For more information, please visit http://www.menacpi.org/.
5-7 August 2009: Global Model UN Conference
The UN Department of Public Information will organize the first annual Global Model UN Conference in Geneva, Switzerland from 5-7 August 2009. The event will bring together university-level students from Model UN programmes currently organized around the world. The theme of the conference will be “The Millennium Developments Goals – Lifting the bottom billion out of poverty”. It will involve youth in all aspects of the planning process and encourage the organization of new Model UN programmes where they do not exist, serving as a model of best practices. Furthermore, it is expected that the Global Model UN will inspire the next generation of leaders to be involved in national and global issues. More information: http://www.un.org/gmun.
12 August: International Youth Day 2009
The theme for International Youth Day 2009 is Sustainability: Our Challenge, Our Future.
Sustainability encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy, and sustainable development can only occur where these three intersect in symbiotic fashion. Therefore, in order to embrace the challenge of sustainability in its fullness, we must all adopt a global sense of social responsibility.
The United Nations Programme on Youth is encouraging youth organisations around the world to host community barter fairs for International Youth Day. Remember, with bartering there is no money involved, only pure exchange of goods and services.
How will YOU celebrate International Youth Day 2009? Are you ready to take on the challenge?
For more information visit: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/iyouthday.htm)
21 - 26 August 2009: TUNZA International Youth Conference
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the UNEP National Committee for the Republic of Korea will be organizing its Tunza International Youth Conference on the Environment in Daejeon. The Conference will bring together 200 youth, to learn about the environment through plenary sessions, workshops and field trips. The Conference will be in three segments: Global Town Hall meeting on 21 August, Regional Meetings from 22-23 August and Conference from 24-26 August. The daily themes include Climate change: Limiting the FootPrint, Youth and Green Jobs, Disasters and Conflicts and their Impact on the Environment and Sustainable Lifestyles.
For more information: http://www.unep.org/tunza/youth/conferences_events/TIYC2009.
31 August – 4 September 2009: World Climate Conference-3
Organized by the World Meteorological Organization, the World Climate Conference-3 (WCC-3) provides the world community with a unique opportunity to address the challenges associated with current climate variability so as to build societal resilience to the imminent effects of climate change. More information: http://www.wmo.int/pages/world_climate_conference/index_en.html.
29-30 September 2009: Global Youth Enterprise Conference
Designed as a participatory learning event, this conference aims to support youth enterprise and entrepreneurship programmes and policies to achieve greater effectiveness around the world. Participants include practitioners, funding organizations, the private sector, academics and youth leaders from around the world who will share best practices, unique approaches, and groundbreaking ideas that help youth develop the necessary skills and opportunities to start their own businesses or seek quality employment. Prospective participants are being encouraged to share their 2020 Vision for the Youth Enterprise, Employment, and Livelihoods Development Field. A call for proposals has been issued. For more information visit: http://www.youthenterpriseconference.org.
7 - 18 December 2009: United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force on 21 March 1994. The Convention sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle climate change and recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The Convention enjoys near universal membership, with 192 countries having ratified. A number of nations had approved the Kyoto Protocol, as an addition to the treaty with more powerful (and legally binding) measures. The Protocol’s first commitment period ends in 2012. A strong multilateral framework needs to be in place by 2009 to ensure that there is no gap between the end of the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012 and the entry into force of a future regime. COP15 (Conference of Parties) in Copenhagen is a vital step in this process.
For more information, visit: http://www.cop15.dk.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
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UN Programme on Youth
Division for Social Policy and Development
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
2 UN Plaza, DC2-1306
New York, NY 10017
USA
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