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Summary
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Summary
N° 1 vol. XV

Summary
N° 3 vol. XV

I. BACKGROUND

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has long recognized that the imagination, ideals and energies of young men and women are vital for the continuing development of the societies in which they live. The call by the United Nations General Assembly for the observance of the 1985 International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace drew international attention to the important role the youth play in the world, particularly their potential contribution to development and the goals of the United Nations Charter.

Recognizing the importance of youth in shaping the world they live in as adults, the General Assembly adopted an international strategy in 1995, the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond. This World Programme focuses in particular on measures to strengthen national capacities regarding youth and to increase the quality and quantity of opportunities available to young people for their full participation in society.

The UN believes that these young people have an important and legitimate role to play in the development of cultural policies. They constitute a large proportion for cultural activities and have been a major driving force behind cultural production and innovation. They embrace the fundamentals of society in which they protect their right to express themselves.

“Youth without Barriers”, is a powerful means by which young people express themselves It will highlight and discuss the role of the Youth in contemporary time through empowerment by way of information, training and action.

Through the UNESCO Club of Metro Manila with the National Youth Commission of the Philippines, a vital step on tapping young industry and community movers was conceptualised. A workshop of such, shall inculcate the training and principles of UNESCO. With the many spheres of UNESCO’s interests it is but imperative to motivate and inform the young people of our need to work on a common goal in support of UNESCO.

The project of the World Youth Festival has been conceived UNESCO as a major program of “Dialogue Among Civilizations” in 2001. The project aims at the popularization and implementation of the idea of a Culture for peace, global thinking and mutual understanding, which started in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2001. Then President of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the UNESCO Director General, and other high level UN and foreign guests graced this international gathering. In 2002 the UNESCO Centre in Krakow together with the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations hosted the World Youth Festival themed: Culture for Dialogue and Peace.

The Festival shall be a platform for open discussion in the framework of the following Declarations :

• 2003-2013 United Nations Literacy Decade
  
  
• 2003-2013 United Nations Literacy Decade
  
  
• 1995-2004 United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education
  
  
• UN Declaration of Decade of Dialogue among Civilizations
  
  
• World Programme of Action for Youth in the Year 2000 and beyond
  

The Festival will :

• Work for dialogue and cooperation with all young people engaging in peace efforts and striving for social justice
  
  
• Give the opportunity for many young people from different cultural and religious backgrounds to share with one another and to design future joint projects
  
  
• Reveal the many different ways young people can be involved in line with literacy as a vehicle for building a culture of peace in their communities
  
  
• Educate young people on culture of peace issues through training, roundtable discussions, workshops, and various cultural activities.

II. OBJECTIVES

In order the address the question, the following objectives were set :

1. To understand the imperatives of cultural development and preservation in the evolving global order and in the local and international setting

a. Promote values from different cultures with the goal of overcoming prejudices

b. Stir up a public sensitivity for protection of cultural and natural heritage

c. Uphold art as a universal language of understanding

2. To put theory into practice through agenda-setting, consensus building and consolidation of strategic plans and actions on the social environment by communities representing the youth ;

3. To learn organizational skills and apply project designs by way of simulations and workshops. These will serve as contributions to peace building based on the principles of tolerance and cooperation toward a just and sustainable world order;

4. To consolidate the youth of the world in total unity for the culture of peace and solidarity.

III. WORKSHOP THEMES

In order to realize these objectives, the following topics are proposed for discussions: (These topics adopts UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy for 2002-2007 the programmatic pillar of UNESCO’s reforms as approved by the Organization's General Conference in its resolution III/1, adopted at its 31st session held in October-November 2001. The Strategy aims at projecting a new vision and a new profile for the Organization with a unifying theme: UNESCO contributing to peace and human development in an era of globalization through education, the sciences, culture and communication.)

1. Understanding Diversity: Bridging the Cultural Divide

The overall objective of the programme for culture is youth empowerment. This means first and foremost that the cultural rights of all people must be safeguarded. The goal is to create a mass movement for the conservation of the heritage of all cultures as the inspiration for the skills in problem-solving, innovation, and creative thinking necessary for dealing with the challenges of the future. These challenges imply that the aims of UNESCO’s cultural programme in the region must be to (I) achieve universal application and implementation by developing a mass base, particularly among youth; (ii) make conservation of cultural heritage an economically and socially sustainable undertaking; (iii) mobilize cultural industries and cultural creators for economic development; (iv) professionalize and systemize cultural heritage resource management; and (v) politically empower the youth.

2. The Literacy Project: Removing Barriers to Participation

These are marginalized sectors in literacy building. These sectors include girls and women, out-of-school youth, the disadvantaged, the disabled and the poor. In some countries like those in South Asia, support for continued expansion of the educational system is needed because education access and system capacity remains low. In other countries, especially in Central, East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the target must shift to excluded groups, and the strategy must shift to supporting ways to make education available to them through both formal and non-formal approaches. Particular attention should be given to the five E-9 countries located in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan) because meeting global EFA targets – and, in the long-run, reducing poverty – depends on meeting enrolment targets in these countries. Efforts to promote literacy in the broader context of the International Decade of Literacy are particularly important. Recognizing that there are large differences between and within countries in the region in the status of educational development, some countries may need assistance in other sub sectors.

The knowledge and experience of developed countries should be seen as a valuable resource to be tapped. Special attention should be given to the needs of adult learners and community empowerment through such innovative approaches as Community Learning Centres (CLC). The UNESCO Philippines sponsored Mothercraft Literacy Course will highlight grassroots-approach method that will address illiteracy and social exclusion.

3. Speak Out: Advocacy of Freedom in the Information Society

LFree flow of information and freedom of the press are essential to guarantee best practices of a democratic society and good governance. UNESCO will maintain its efforts to promote the free flow of information and press freedom through advocacy, training for media professionals, provision of technical assistance to improve the media legislation process (including those related to the freedom to receive, share, and impart information), and facilitating the independence and pluralism of the media. The workshop theme aims to explore key challenges, opportunities and constraints stemming from the information society, develop a common vision and understanding and prepare a plan to address the key issues and solve the problems identified.

All programmes will contain objectives from the inclusion, empowerment and mainstreaming of the disabled, youth, women, and ethnic minorities. Efforts will be made to incorporate the strategic focus on the strengthening of civic consciousness and revitalization of social capital into the youth leadership programme.

IV. EXPECTED OUTPUT

To reinforce the regional and interregional co-operation between the UNESCO Clubs, Government Representatives, International, Regional and Local Youth NGOs in the spirit of mutual understanding through the…

• Building of thematic networks of joint projects and activities.
  
  
• Creation of an Internet database of cultural and educational youth projects presented during the WYF.
  
  
• Production of the WYF2003 Kit of "Ideas for youth action" to be taken home by participants in their community or country as a youth guide on the various outputs and projects.
  
• Facilitation of the interaction between young people acting in the field of UNESCO’s goals and in support of UNESCO's Strategy with and for the Youth.
  
• Launching of international, regional and local projects on the basis of the WYF objectives.

V. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The World Youth Festival is made up of three types of activities :

• Workshops and Plenary Sessions – open debates on main themes
  
  
• Youth Organizations / UNESCO CLUBS Festival
  
  
• Art Festival "Four corners of the world"

1. Ateliers et séances plénières-débats ouverts sur les principaux thèmes

This is a two-day seminar composed of plenary sessions and round tables debates, both run and animated by invited specialists and experts in the respective fields, including UNESCO and other UN agency representatives. All participants at the Forum will have the opportunity to take a floor and to share their ideas, knowledge, experiences, and opinions referring to the topic of a current discussion.

All Interventions and debates will be in English in the context of diverse cultural, social and religious backgrounds of civil societies, of individual respect for common cultural and natural heritage as well as of the role of education.

Expected Output: Youth Kit "Ideas for Youth Action". This will be a portfolio of “best practices” on the themes discussed in their local community or country and doable projects inline with the Workshop Topics.

2. Youth Organizations / UNESCO Clubs Festival

The Festival seeks to support and reinforce Youth movements and UNESCO Clubs through developing the interregional cooperation on the basis of the programs, projects and best practices being employed by participating Youth organizations.

The showcase of various Youth organizations and UNESCO Clubs activities should result in the exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge between the different Organizations and its members, the possible launching of new projects in the field of common interest in creating thematic networks on regional or interregional level, to empower the youth to take more active part in various affairs affecting them. All projects should correspond to the topics of the UN and UNESCO Declarations and the World Youth Forum.

3. Performing Arts Festival "Four Corners of the World"

The festival will consist of a series of artistic events like concerts, exhibitions, theatre and dance performances, which shall present the cultural heritage, and artistic traditions of different countries and regions.

The performing arts festival will be held during the four days of the WYF. The first evening will be mainly devoted to Filipino art performances with some artistic accents representing all other regions. The remaining Festival days of the WYF shall feature performances by the delegation members of the participating countries. Thus, attending member countries are advised to bring with them costumes, props and other materials that they may need for their performances (dance, singing, puppetry, poetry etc).

In line with UNESCO’s Education Strategy, aside from the usual types of activities, the 2003 WYF shall introduce innovative approaches in facilitating learning during the event. Proposed activities include :

• Outdoor Challenge Exercises
  
  
• Structured Learning Exercises

The proposed activities are aimed at ensuring interactive participation among the participants attending the event.

VII. TENTATIVE PROGRAMME FOR THE WORLD YOUTH FESTIVAL

WYF2003 will begin on 27 August with the arrival of the participants various countries. The programme shall consist of plenary and workshop sessions, where presentations shall be delivered by eminent speakers and practitioners, and workshop sessions, where the youth shall be given the opportunity to dialogue among themselves on more focused topics. The participants shall also be given the opportunity to dialogue with the speakers and presenters at the end of each plenary session. A cultural programme shall also be arranged to give the participants a taste of the Philippines’ legendary hospitality and remarkable culture.

To consult the Programme

VIII. PARTICIPANTS

In co-operation with UNESCO and various International Youth groups, we invite youth representatives from around the world to participate in the youth dialogue. Participants should ideally be between 15 – 30 years of age, proficient in English, and familiar with national or international youth issues related to WYF2003’s mains topics and themes. Participants should also have an active interest in the other region, countries and the international community. Around 250 local and international participants are expected.

The WYF2003 Secretariat shall consider candidates that fit the following youth profiles:

Profile 1: Youth in Government
Candidate is a designated member or officer of the government body dealing with youth issues or youth policies (i.e. National Youth Council, National Council for Youth Organisations, Youth Bureau at the Ministry of Education, or equivalent thereof.)

Profile 2: Youth in Society and Business
Candidate is a notable and recognised leader in a specific sector in society, such as the fields of arts and media, science and humanities. A leader of the student union, business or community leader, aid and NGO worker, a distinguished young artist and the could also be nominated.

IX. ACCOMMODATIONS

Hotel accommodations, food, local transportation for the official programme, will be arranged for the participants. More detailed information regarding the logistical arrangements for the conference will be provided at a later stage.

X. TRAVEL

Travel costs between Manila, Philippines and the participants’ home country will be the responsibility of each participant. However, upon approval of the Organizing Committee partial travel subsidies shall be provided to help defray the international flight costs.

XI. OPTIONAL TOURS

The WYF2002 Secretariat shall prepare an optional programme focused on Cultural and Natural Heritage Tours after the WYF2003.

XII. REGISTRATION

The WYF2003 Secretariat provides an official registration form, which includes information on the registration fee. The WYF2003 Secretariat shall partially subsidize the registration fee of local and international participants.

To apply :
Please visit www.wyf2003.org or Email: info@wyf2003.org | apply@wyf2003.org

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