One Young Person in Every Delegation

World Youth Forum Addresses 12 Priority Areas

A call for the inclusion of a person under 25-years-old, representing a youth organization, in every national delegation to the United Nations was one of a number of recommendations set out in the final document of the World Youth Forum, which was held at the Vienna International Centre from 25 to 29 November last year.

The main objective of the Forum was to promote the implementation of the "World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond", which was adopted by the General Assembly last year. Through 12 thematic workshops corresponding to the issues addressed by the Action Programme, the Forum aimed to identify and promote policies and projects that could be undertaken jointly by youth organizations and United Nations entities to reinforce youth leadership and improve the situation of young people everywhere.

Five days of debate and consultation between youth groups and representatives of United Nations agencies in 12 working groups on various topics were condensed into a draft preambular declaration to the Forum's recommendations, which will be conveyed to the General Assembly this fall.

The recommendations cover youth concerns in the 12 areas addressed by the Forum's working groups. These included the 10 areas highlighted in the World Programme of Action for Youth, plus the areas of racism and xenophobia, and communications. The recommendations were regarded by participating United Nations officials as reflecting the vision of their future as seen by young people and as signalling their desire to participate in shaping policy on youth matters, particularly in preparation for the next such forum in 1998.

A recurring theme during the five-day Forum was the desire by young people to have improved two-way communications between youth non-governmental organizations at local, regional, national and international levels, and with the United Nations. They also expressed a desire to be better informed and to learn more about the workings of the United Nations.

More than 600 participants from youth organizations in 150 countries attended the Forum, which is the second such gathering organized by the United Nations, the first having taken place in Vienna in 1991. At the close, Antonio Jose Seguro, Secretary of State for Youth of Portugal, conveyed his country's offer to host both a meeting of Ministers for Youth Affairs and a third World Youth Forum in 1998.

The group on tolerance, racism and xenophobia called for the promotion of increased knowledge in order to counter intolerance. Stressing the equal value of each individual, participants called for a "tolerance network" database to help fight racism and xenophobia as well as for special efforts to break down ethnic and racial stereotypes. Youth, they said, was a resource which could be used to eliminate racism and prejudice in the world.

Delegates asked that the issue of intolerance be identified as an additional priority area to those already included in the World Programme of Action for Youth, and that young people put pressure on governments to implement existing human rights instruments having a bearing on tolerance.

On the basis that "information is power", the working group on communications said global communication among young people meant giving them a chance to empower themselves. "To realize our vision of this world-wide dialogue, we have to force the unhindered access to information for every young person", the group's report stated.

Noting that decentralized information reached the greatest possible number of young people, the group suggested a number of research projects aimed at identifying special channels of communication favoured by youth. Another suggestion was the establishment of an information centre for conflict areas.

New technologies, such as the Internet, should be improved so that young people could establish a real exchange on their situations and needs, leading to the setting up of a "world youth network". Particular emphasis was placed on the need to incorporate mass media education in school curricula in order to provide young people with criteria for understanding the workings and pitfalls of media.

The Forum's recommendations for joint action on youth policy, communications, training and youth projects will be reported to next year's session of the General Assembly through the Commission for Social Development.

Based on DPI Press Releases ENV/DEV/385 (SOC/4409) and ENV/DEV/387 (SOC/4410)

© 1997-2001 United Nations ESCAP.