Note to Correspondents

Seventh Annual Youth Assembly at United Nations Headquarters

 

The seventh annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations will take place at United Nations Headquarters from 4 to 6 August 2010 in Conference Room 1.  The Youth Assembly has been held at the United Nations for the past six years with the sponsorship of various permanent missions to the United Nations.  The primary sponsor this year is the Permanent Mission of Finland.  The Youth Assembly is organized by the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, a non-governmental organization associated with the Department of Public Information.

The Department of Public Information has played a supportive and collaborative role in the planning of the Youth Assembly for a second consecutive year.  This effort is in line with the Department’s continued outreach to enhance and diversify its range of educational programmes, products and services aimed at a youth audience, which the United Nations defines as ages 15 to 24.  The Youth Assembly focuses particularly on engaging youth in the area of the Millennium Development Goals, a priority issue for the United Nations and an area of considerable interest and relevance to young people.

Participants will focus on Youth-Led Development toward the success of the Millennium Development Goals.  They will engage in discussions and workshops with specialists on issues pertaining to the eight goals.  This experience will enable them to gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the work of the Organization in this important area.  They will also benefit from receiving practical ideas on ways to make a difference in their own communities.

Approximately 600 youth leaders from 25 countries representing all regions of the world will attend the conference this year, with a particularly large group of participants from China.

For more information, please contact Vivian Bernstein or Lilli Schindler in Group Programmes, Visitors Services/Outreach Division, Department of Public Information, at +1 212 963 6019 or +1 212 963 1361, or visit the Friendship Ambassadors website at:  http://www.faf.org/unyouthassembly/ya_home.htm.

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For information media • not an official record