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Posted By: Nick Moraitis. Rating: 4 / 5. |
UNESCO 31ST GENERAL CONFERENCE YOUTH FORUM
REPORT TO THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO
BY NICK MORAITIS, AUSTRALIAN YOUTH DELEGATE
Preface
The opinions I expressed at UNESCO's General Conference Youth Forum and in this report were/are my own and should not be considered the position of any organisation or the Australian government.
Background
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) convened a Youth Forum in the four days before the 31st General Conference. The General Conference is the peak body in UNESCO's governance structure, and is comprised of all Member States. The Youth Forum was an opportunity to ensure full attention was given to the concerns and interests of young people in the formulation of UNESCO's strategic mid-term plan (2002-2007).
The youth forum had more than 150 participants representing more than 80 countries, and a number of international youth non-government organisations. The UNESCO Youth Unit, headed by Ms. Maria-Helena Henriques Muller coordinated the Forum. In large part, the success of the youth forum (particularly improvements over the 1999 event) was attributed to invaluable support shown within the Executive Board of UNESCO by Mr. Ken Wiltshire, Chairman of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO.
Proceedings of the Youth Forum
The Youth Forum began with an opening reception on the night of the 11th of October. The Director-General of UNESCO officially opened the forum and addressed delegates at the morning plenary of the 12th. Samoa nominated Australia (to my surprise) for the position of President of the Youth Forum, although I narrowly missed achieving the required votes.
The plenaries provided an opportunity for agenda setting addresses by UNESCO staff and youth delegates (including those of Nigeria, Iceland, Latvia and Norway) in the key areas of discussion - the cross-cutting themes of (a) poverty eradication, and (b) information and communication technologies.
The Forum broke into three working groups to explore in more depth the crosscutting themes. Group 3 elected Iceland and Australia as co-Rapporteurs and we acted as representatives of the group within the small Drafting Committee to formulate the final communiqu
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United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
UNESCO develops international projects in support of education for all, the advancement of science, cultural diversity, and communication and expression. Activities include conferences, development of international standards and laws, and management of and funding of projects on topics ranging...
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