JAPANESE YOUTH CONTRIBUTE TO UN ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

 

(Reissued as received.)

VIENNA, 4 April (UN Information Service) -- A group of six high school students selected as this year’s Young Civic Ambassadors by Japan’s Drug Abuse Prevention Centre (DAPC) today presented to Sumru Noyan, Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), their latest contribution of $185,000.  Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, UNODC, also met the young ambassadors and praised the DAPC for its continuous support, which has surpassed $4 million over the last 11 years.

“UNODC’s appreciation for the young ambassadors is not only for the millions of dollars they have donated over the years, but also for their enthusiastic delivery of anti-drug messages to young people across the world.  Their efforts demonstrate how much a group of motivated young people can achieve when they decide to stop talking and start doing”, said Mr. Costa.

Since 1994, the DAPC has been raising funds for anti-drug efforts, and each year six to eight of the most active participants are labelled Young Civic Ambassadors and come to Vienna to present their contribution to the UNODC.  The DAPC plans to continue this fund-raising campaign in support of the goals set by the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem.

This year’s young ambassadors were Naoko Konda, Yuuji Nakaya, Kana Minatani, Rika Shibaike, Yukiko Sugiyama, and Satomi Shimabukuro.  Before leaving for Vienna, they met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who also heads the Japanese Commission for Promotion of Measures to Prevent Drug Abuse.  The Prime Minister praised their contribution to the global efforts against drug abuse.

Japan’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, Ambassador Yukio Takasu, attended the ceremony at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), and emphasized the importance the Japanese Government attaches to the young ambassadors’ actions.  The “DAPC activities are valuable because they promote youth participation in drug abuse prevention and serve as a model for youth awareness and fund-raising campaigns against drug abuse”, said Ambassador Takasu.

Director of the DAPC Shunzo Abe accompanied the Young Civic Ambassadors during their visit to the VIC.

DAPC’s contribution to UNODC is used for supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in developing countries by providing grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.  More than 300 grants have been awarded to NGOs in over 90 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe in grass-roots activities for drug abuse prevention.

For more information, contact:  Kathleen Millar, Deputy Spokesperson UNODC, tel.:  +43 1 26060 5629, e-mail:  press@unodc.org.

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