Executive Chairperson of the NYDA, Andile Lungisa
CEO of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Steven Ngubeni
Ladies and gentlemen of the media
Building on the very successful hosting of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup, South Africa will again be playing host to one of the largest and most significant events on the international calendar. South Africa has been chosen to host the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students from 13 to 21 December 2010 following a bidding process which was led by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).
The World Festival of Youth and Students has a long heritage dating back to 1945 at the end of Second World War, when international youth and students assembled and adopted a pledge for peace in the world. Since then, the festival has turned into an ongoing forum for progressive youth from all over the world. The festival is organised every four years by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) in one of its 153 member countries.
However in its 65 year history this is the first that this very significant international youth conference will be held in the Southern Africa, and that the conference will have a specific focus on issues relevant to youth from the African continent.
This conference is being held under the theme “Let’s defeat imperialism, for a world of peace, solidarity and social transformation”.
Thousands of youth from South Africa and the world are expected to attend the nine day event in Gauteng hosted at institutions of higher learning within the province in December.
The festival aims to:
- raise critical current issues in order to impact the shaping of policies of governments and the world
- Unite the youth of the world for peace, solidarity and social transformation to create a world free of human rights abuses and creation of sustainable environments
- Mainstream the African youth agenda
- The conference will also serve as a platform for youth to share ideas and exchange information
- It is also an opportunity to promote SA as a tourist destination and to raise awareness of the country internationally.
The daily conference sessions will focus on social, political and economic issues facing today’s youth.
Topics to be discussed include:
- the struggle for peace, sovereignty and solidarity against imperialism
- right to employment, economic issues, environment and development
- public, free and universal access to education, science, culture and information
- democratic rights, freedoms and human rights
The variety of cultural programmes will include:
- arts and culture manifestations representative of the geographic regions of the festival
- photography contest
- a meeting for young filmmakers
- an international poetry contest
- an international song contest
- a soccer tournament
- a fun run
The festival presents South African youth with an opportunity to make contribution towards the shaping of policies locally and internationally in the interests of advancing solidarity, peace and democracy. This we believe as the Government of South Africa form the foundation for social and economic development.
As such we believe the festival will have enormous benefits for the youth of South Africa.
We anticipate that the festival:
- Will benefit the youth of South Africa from the social, political and economic discussions at the festival which will enhance our discourse. It will intensify the campaign for universal access to education. It will amplify campaigns against xenophobia, racism and other related intolerances
- It will lead to improved consolidation of our own national agenda for youth development and empowerment in South Africa
- We anticipate it will result in increased international partnerships and networking opportunities between likeminded youth leaders from around the world
- Furthermore the festival will have economic benefits from the foreign spending in the country for the duration of the event.
A lot of preparation has gone into ensuring the success of the festival. The NYDA is the anchor institution to facilitate the successful hosting of the event. It has appointed a National Preparatory Committee (NPC) whose main task is the planning, organisation and execution of the programmes for the event.
The NPC is constituted of various youth organisations that are affiliated to the World Federation of Democratic Youth and government institutions including the Department of International Relations and Cooperations, The Presidency as well as the City of Johannesburg and supported by the International Organising Committee.
As the youth of the world in 1945 pledged themselves to build the unity of youth of the world across all races, all colors, all nationalities, all beliefs; as government we firmly belive that the festival will constructively contribute to the advancement Social Cohesion in South Africa. We believe it will lay a foundation for Africa’s youth voice to be heard in the world.
The festival will foster lasting positive relations with countries of the world that will lead to the development of youth in South Africa.
Enquiries:
Harold Maloka
Cell: 082 847 9799
E-mail: harold@po.gov.za or Maloka.harold@gmail.com
Source: The Presidency
