UNESCO Initiatives to Celebrate the International Year of Youth
(initiatives led or supported by UNESCO)
Flagship Initiatives
- 2011 UNESCO Youth Forum (UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France, 17-20 October 2011)
- Development of joint follow-up mechanism of major global and regional youth events (inter-agency initiative led by UNESCO)
Events in the framework of the Year (supported by UNESCO)
- UNESCO-European Athletics Young Leaders Forum (Spain, 26-29 July 2010);
- 4th UNESCO Asian Youth Forum (Republic of Korea, 7-11 September 2010);
- 7th World Youth Conference on Sport, Education and Culture 'Giving a Voice to Youth' (South Africa, 5-7 December 2010);
- Celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March 2011);
- Policy Dialogue Round Table “Towards Youth inclusive policies and prevention of violence in the Great Lakes Region (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Tanzania)” (Kenya, June 2011);
- 5th UNESCO Asian Youth Forum (Republic of Korea, Summer-Fall 2011).
Patronage or technical support
- Vanguardia Iberoamericana, Foro 2010 “360° Vision”, organized by Espacio de Vinculación (Argentina, 26-30 November 2010)
Advocacy and awareness-raising
- Message from Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Youth Day and launch of the 2010 UN international Year of Youth (12 August 2010) [PDF, 129 KB];
- Joint statement by Heads of UN entities for the launch of the International Year of Youth (12 August 2010) [PDF, 1 MB];
- Media fact sheet on the role of youth in promoting dialogue and mutual understanding (developed jointly with the UN Alliance of Civilizations);
- “Your stories” initiative hosted on the homepage of the UNESCO website and detailing testimonies, photos and videos from young people on the power of sport in inter-cultural dialogue and understanding;
- Campaign on the ratification and implementation of the African Youth Charter (under development – in cooperation with the African Union Commission and key partners)