Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andre Nel will today lead a South Africa delegation to the World Youth Conference in Mexico. The conference attended by United Nations member countries puts firmly youth development on the world agenda.
The main objective of the conference is to identify priority actions for 2015 on youth issues to be included in the international agenda for development beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The conference will takes place from 23 to 27 August 2010 and will be attended by government representatives, civil society and parliamentarians. There are two main sessions, the Social Forum (23 to 25 August) and the Government Forum (25 to 27 August).
The World Youth Conference seeks to achieve the following objectives t
·Reach consensus around a declaration of governments that identifies, in a comprehensive fashion, priority actions on youth issues and development policies to be presented at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
·Promote the enhancement of the UN capacity for the promotion and follow-up on a comprehensive youth agenda.
·Promote dialogue between civil society organizations and governments on comprehensive and cross-cutting youth and development policies, with the aim of addressing the needs and priorities of world youth.
·Share knowledge and experiences on youth and development assessments, policies, strategies and programmes.
The conference will consider a number of thematic issues which are considered key to youth development and find solutions to challenges facing the youth. The thematic issues to be considered are poverty and exclusion, education, health, employment, technology and innovation, culture, access to justice and security, participation, gender equality, sustainable development and climate change, international migration and global cooperation.
The gathering is hosted by the Mexican government in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Youth Program of the United Nations. At the end of the conference, a world youth declaration which is expected to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010 will be adopted.
This gathering follows a number of pre-conferences which were held in different regions of the world to find common regional positions in preparation for the world conference. The African region met in Abuja, Nigeria earlier in June attended by the African Ministers of Youth together with experts and adopted an African position which was submitted for inclusion in the draft declaration to be discussed in Mexico.
Deputy Minister Andre Nel will be supported by the South African Ambassador in Mexico Mphakama N Mbete, representatives of the National Youth Development Agency, members of parliament, the youth non-governmental organisations and several government departments.
Enquiries:
Harold Maloka
Cell: 082 847 9799
