8th UNESCO Youth Forum: Call for Proposals

8th UNESCO Youth Forum
29-31 October 2013
UNESCO, Paris, France
“Youth and Social Inclusion: Civic Engagement, Dialogue and Skills Development”

– Call for projects –
15 July 2013 – 12 August 2013

Framework of reference
The UNESCO Youth Forum is an integral part of UNESCO’s General Conference. It was initiated in 1999 to bridge the gap between UNESCO’s work on youth and youth  organizations. More than an event, the Forum is a process that enables young women and men to submit strategic recommendations to representatives of 195 Member States and to engage in their implementation. For the first time in its 12-year history, the outcomes of the Youth Forum will include, besides strategic recommendations, fifteen youth-led action projects (3 projects per each of the 5 UNESCO regions1).
Representing one of the main outputs of the Forum, the 15 selected action projects will be selected by the young Forum delegates and will receive the “8th UNESCO Youth Forum  Label”. The label is a guarantee of quality and excellence of the projects, which will have to  be in line with UNESCO’s priorities. It will provide their initiators with opportunities to mobilize funds, partnerships and international visibility and will also be a recognition of grass-roots action and engagement by young women and men across the world. More concretely, the label will be the starting point of the projects implementation process over a period of up to two years, thereby constituting a central feature in the Forum’s follow-up.Action projects can be submitted from youth or youth organizations in all regions of the world, following the criteria and conditions described below. The selection process will involve an independent jury mainly composed of youth, which will shortlist 45 projects (9 per region). The participants of the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum who will meet at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, from 29 to 31 October, will then select 15 projects (3 per region) from the 45 shortlisted projects

1. WHAT SHOULD THE ACTION PROJECTS FOCUS ON?

Overall, the submitted action projects should propose innovative and feasible action form development, by and for youth, tackling youth-related issues in a holistic approach. They  should relate directly to the general orientation of the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum which  focuses on the role of “youth as agents of social transformations, sustainable development and peace”.

? Thematic focus

All action projects proposed should contribute to the general theme of the 8th UNESCO Youth

Forum: “Youth and Social Inclusion: Civic Engagement, Dialogue and Skills Development”. Under this generic theme, they should address one of the 7 specific themes proposed below, stemmed from the youth consultations conducted by UNESCO from February to April 2013.

It would be desirable that one specific theme is privileged as a common thread in each

proposed project.

? Specific themes

(See enclosed document for working definitions for each of these themes)

1. Social Inclusion

2. Civic Engagement and Participation

3. Intercultural Dialogue

4. Social Entrepreneurship & Social Innovation

5. Violence and Conflict Prevention, and Consolidation of Peace

6. Democracy

7. Skills Development

? Fundamental principles

All action projects must aim at promoting several fundamental principles that lie at the core of UNESCO’s mission, namely: human rights, gender equality, culture of peace and sustainable development.

4. WHO CAN APPLY?
? Youth-led organizations, associations or entities;
? Young members of youth-focused organizations (18-35 years of age), on behalf of
these organizations;
? Young entrepreneurs with an established NGO or enterprise, in particular social
enterprises.
HOW WILL THE SELECTION PROCESS TAKE PLACE?
15 July-12 August 2013: Submission of action projects
13-31 August 2013: Verification by UNESCO’s Secretariat that the projects meet the established criteria
2-30 September 2013: Pre-selection and shortlisting of 45 projects (9 projects per region) by an International independent jury composed of youth and experts in the relevant fields.
1-28 October 2013: Online posting of the shortlisted 45 projects which are made available to the youth delegates of the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum who can further debate on them online.
29-31 October 2013: Examination and debate on the 45 projects during the 8thUNESCO Youth Forum to select 15 projects (3 per region) that will receive the “8th UNESCO Youth Forum Label”.
November 2013: The 15 projects identified by the Forum having received the “8th UNESCO Youth Forum Label” are presented to the 37thsession of the UNESCO General Conference alongside with the strategic recommendations

To apply, fill the online application form here

For more details, click here