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| UNESCO Americas Youth Forum |
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| Mexico City, Mexico, 9-15 September 2007 |
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Tentative Format
The Americas Youth Forum will last for 7 days from Sunday 9 September to Saturday 15 September 2007. There will be workshops, plenary sessions and meetings. Each evening a cultural exchange program or informal discussion will take place to allow the participants to get to know each other. The participants will be requested to arrive at Mexico City on Saturday 8 or Sunday 9 September.
Theme
The overall theme of the regional forums is ”Young People and the Dialogue among Civilizations, Cultures and Peoples: Ideas for action in education, the sciences, culture and communication”. Under this theme, the Youth Forum Report has recommended two sub-themes as specific foci of the regional youth forums: ”Education for sustainable development” and ”Intercultural and interfaith dialogue to ensure peace”.
Objectives- To allow youth delegates to elaborate specific themes and related recommendations for action in favour of dialogue by and for young people.
- To consolidate and encourage networks and partnerships between young people, youth organizations, UNESCO and other partners concerned with youth and dialogue in the region.
- To define concrete youth-led follow up projects and initiatives in the region, which shall be supported with seed funding through a Regional Youth Project Fund.
List of participating countries (36 countries)- South America (12)
Argentina , Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) .
- Central America (7)
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
- North America (3)
Canada, Mexico, United States.
- Caribbean countries (14)
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.
E-dialogue
Based on the recommendation adopted during the 4th UNESCO Youth Forum to promote “further interaction via a specific and permanent UNESCO Youth Forum website and discussion forum, where the youth can actively participate in debates and channel their input,” the organizers will create a listserv where subscribers can post ideas and proposals about the content of the 1st Americas Youth Forum. We envision this as an e-space for youth dialogue, where young subscribers can exchange ideas and contribute to identifying the Forum’s agenda.
As our main concern is encouraging youth participation in defining the content of the Forum, we are compiling a list of subscribers to the listserv, who will react to pertinent questions and topics about the content of the forum. These questions and topics will serve to kick off the online discussion, with a new question being posted online each week. The consultation process for the determination of the Forum’s sub-themes will be operating for almost six weeks. The results from this online discussion with young subscribers will be a major component of what shapes the content of the workshops and forum. The listserv will remain open until the start of the Forum; this will give the delegates the opportunity to get to know each other before the Forum, and they will also be able to continue their discussions and exchanges for as long as they want as the listserv can be maintained indefinitely. In providing a space for on-line interaction between the Forum’s participants, the listserv could ultimately prove to be a key tool in terms of the Forum’s follow-up: putting the delegates’ ideas and recommendations for practical action in the region into practice.
In order to assure a more pluralistic procedure and significant youth participation, in addition to involving the young delegates in this process, we will also ask former Youth Forum participants, Youth NGOs, youth organizations, and networks in the Americas region to nominate young people as subscribers to the listserv. Furthermore, we would like to inform you that, in order to keep all associated partners informed about this aspect of the planning process for the Forum, a summary of each week’s online discussions will be sent to all organizations that have nominated a subscriber.
Forum Participants
- Delegates:
Two youth delegates per participating country, one nominated by the National Commission for UNESCO and the other by the national youth council (or, in the absence of a national youth council, the most appropriate national youth structure).
Basic Selection Criteria for delegates:- Gender parity (one young woman and one young man from each country)
- Age: 18-30
- Good level of English or Spanish (both are desirable)
- Active participation and membership in a youth organization
- Substantial knowledge, competence and experience in intercultural dialogue and youth issues
- Ability to communicate a large range of opinions of his/her country’s youth
- An open mind and an interest in promoting the initiatives and recommendations adopted at the Americas Youth Forum
* Every participant should post his/her case study to organizers after the determination of the sub-themes.
* Each nominating body should forward a completed Registration Form to Berenice Alcalde (UNESCO) by July 11, 2007 at the latest.
- Facilitators: experts on the Forum’s sub-themes or on youth issues, to act as as facilitators in the working group sessions.
- Observers: representatives of youth NGOs and networks, national authorities, UNESCO National Commissions, Field Offices, to attend at their own expense.
Working Languages
Spanish and English
Travel and Accommodations
The organizers will provide travel, accommodations and meals for all the delegates and facilitators.
Expected OutcomesEach regional Youth Forum should adopt a report outlining the salient discussions and recommendations from the Forum. The report will be widely disseminated as part of the follow-up, and will be included in the framework preparations for the UNESCO Youth Forum to be held at the 34th session of the General Conference.
In addition, the American Youth Forum will serve to highlight youth-led, best practices for promoting dialogue among cultures and peoples at all levels. Partners
The Forum is being co-organised by the Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education at UNESCO, the UNESCO Office Mexico and the Mexican National Commission for UNESCO, in cooperation with the State of Guerrero (Youth Secretary and Secretary for Rural Development) and the Mexican Institute of Youth, on behalf of the government of Mexico.
For further information, please contact:
Berenice ALCALDE
Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education (SHS/SRP/YSPE)
Division of Social Sciences, Research and Policy / Social and Human Sciences Sector
UNESCO
7, Place de Fontenoy
75007 Paris, France
Email: b.alcalde@unesco.org
Phone: + 33 (0)1 45 68 17 09 / + 33 (0)1 45 68 03 49
Fax: + 33 (0)1 45 68 57 90
Maria KYPRIOTOU
Section for Youth, Sport and Physical Education (SHS/SRP/YSPE)
Division of Social Sciences, Research and Policy / Social and Human Sciences Sector
UNESCO
Phone: + 33 (0)1 45 68 16 41
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