SHAPE THE YOUTH FORUM WITH US!
As suggested by the youth delegates of the 7th UNESCO Youth Forum in October 2011, UNESCO is now launching a broad-based online consultation for the preparation of the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum, which will take place at UNESCO HQ, Paris, in October 2013.
This consultation is meant to enable youth and all other related stakeholders to contribute to the preparation of the Forum, from shaping its thematic agenda to deciding on its format and outcome! The consultation will be conducted through an online questionnaire, in a phased manner:
· Phase 1 – Identifying the theme of the Forum! Now OPEN!
This phase is open to youth from across the world. It is meant to allow UNESCO to identify the thematic focus of the Forum WITH youth.
We are counting on you all to help us move forward in this exercise.
To participate, fill in the QUESTIONNAIRE here, deadline Thursday, 21 February 2013
· Phase 2 – Exchanging on the format, preparatory process and the outcomes of the Forum (25 February to 20 March 2013)
This phase will be open both to youth and to youth development actors across the world. It is meant to collect feedback and ideas on ways to better prepare for the Forum, make it more interactive and ensure concrete outcomes. The questionnaire will be addressed to youth delegates of previous UNESCO Youth Fora, to young people and members of youth organizations, to National Commissions for UNESCO, to public authorities working on youth issues, to civil society organizations working on or with youth, to UN System entities working on youth, to academic partners, as well as to private sector entities that work on youth development and civic engagement issues.
Before engaging in the consultation, it is important to consider the nature of the UNESCO Youth Forum:
1. The results of the Forum (recommendations and action projects) contribute to UNESCO’s work and programme on youth. As such they should focus on, and align with, UNESCO’s programmatic priorities on youth and UNESCO’s areas of competence. This also means that the theme(s) of the Forum should be relevant to UNESCO’s mandate and work.
2. The Forum is expected to lead to specific and tangible recommendations and, this year, to youth-led action projects that will allow their implementation in 2014-2015, leading up to the next UNESCO Youth Forum.
3. The Forum is an integral part of the UNESCO General Conference, highest decision-making body in the Organization. It was initiated in 1999 as a way to bridge the gap between UNESCO’s work and youth organizations. Youth delegates from UNESCO Member-States, youth activists and members of youth organizations “own” the content and outputs of the Forum and are leading follow-up work. More than a one-off event taking place, the Forum is a 2-year process that enables youth to submit their recommendations to representatives of 195 Member-States, while at the same time mobilizing these youth in undertaking concrete follow-up action to support the implementation of their ideas
For more information on the UNESCO Youth Forum click here
For more information on the 7th UNESCO Youth Forum (October 2011) click here
