UNESCO
launches a call for projects driven by young people
© UNESCO /
Rajneesh Bhandari
UNESCO launches
a call for projects in order to identify and support 15 action projects (3 by
region) which will be “certified” with the label “8th UNESCO Youth Forum” and
implemented by, with and for young women and men between the 8th and the 9th
UNESCO Youth Forum (October 2013-October 2015).
Thus, the
selection and adoption of these 15 projects, which are expected to be in line
with the UNESCO Youth Strategy 2014-2021, will be one of the major outcomes of
the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum, to be held at the Organization Headquarters,
Paris, France, from 29 to 31 October 2013, under the theme “Youth and Social
Inclusion: Civic Engagement, Dialogue and Skills Development.”
Indeed, for the
first time in its history, the UNESCO Youth Forum, created in 1999, will not
only include strategic recommendations, but it will also select, support and
plan innovative and concrete actions that can help achieve positive change
for, with and by young women and men on several fields such as social
inclusion, civic engagement and participation, social entrepreneurship and
innovation, prevention of violence and conflicts, intercultural dialogue,
democracy and skills development.
With this goal,
the UNESCO’s call for projects launched this Friday 12 July 2013 is open to
all young women and men who are members of a youth-led or youth-focused
organization, project leaders or young entrepreneurs active in an established
NGO. These young people are invited to submit their proposals for an
innovative action project in their community, country or region, by filling
in the submission
form by 12 August
2013, the
International Youth Day, midnight, Paris time.
After receiving
these proposals, an independent international jury will pre-select 45 projects
by the end of September 2013 and their initiators will be invited to submit
one-minute video describing their project so that these 45 short films can be
visible online by mid-October 2013. Then, during the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum,
the young participants will examine and discuss the 45 pre-selected projects
with a view to choosing a total of 15 (3 youth-led action projects per the
five UNESCO regions). On 31 October 2013, the 15 projects awarded the “8th
UNESCO Youth Forum” label will be announced and presented at the 37th UNESCO
General Conference, in November 2013.
Allowing young
people to submit recommendations to 195 UNESCO’s Member States’
representatives at the highest decision-making level, the UNESCO Youth Forum
brings together, every two years, at the eve of the UNESCO General Conference,
around 400 young participants from all over the world to exchange views, share
experiences, reflect together and, above all, detect common preoccupations and
problems.
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