PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR WORLD YOUTH FORUM
Press Release
PI/1063
PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR WORLD YOUTH FORUM
19980504 NEW YORK, 4 May (Development and Human Rights Section) -- The imagination, ideals and energies of young men and women are vital for the continuing development of the societies in which they live. In recognition of the importance of youth, the United Nations is holding a World Youth Forum of the United Nations System in Braga, Portugal from 2 to 7 August. The Forum will bring together representatives from non-governmental youth organizations, the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations to discuss enhanced cooperation and communication between the United Nations system and youth and their organizations, and to co-manage follow-up projects. The Forum is being convened by the United Nations in partnership with the Portuguese National Youth Council.The Third Preparatory Team Meeting for the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System will begin work on a youth declaration when it meets next week in Braga, from 5 to 7 May. During the three-day session, United Nations agencies will work with young people representing regional and international youth organizations, among others, to start to develop a joint contribution to the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth. That Conference is being organized by the Government of Portugal in cooperation with the United Nations in Lisbon, from 8-12 August. The Ministerial Conference will undertake the first global biennial review of the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond.
Following the Preparatory Team Meeting in Braga, the Team will travel to Lisbon on 8 May to meet with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Youth, at the site of the World Conference, and present its conclusions.
Members of the Preparatory Team Meeting representing United Nations agencies and bodies will include the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Department of Public Information, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Participants will also include intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union and the League of Arab States. In addition, a number of youth and student organizations from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and North America, and Asia and the Pacific will attend, as well as several of the world's major international youth organizations, including youth-serving and advocacy groups.
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For further information, contact: William D. Angel, Officer-in-Charge, Youth Unit Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, room DC2-1318, New York, NY 10017, Tel.: (212) 963-1380; Fax: (212) 963-3062, Web site: http://www.un.org/dpcsd/dspd/unyin.htm or Elisabeth Ruzicka-Dempsey, Focal Point on Youth, Development and Human Rights Section, Department of Public Information (DPI), room S-1040C, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, U.S.A., Tel: (212) 963-1742, Fax: (212) 963-1186, E-mail: ruzicka-dempsey@un.org.
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