Sri Lanka to host 1,500-strong World Conference on Youth in May
Monday, 6 January 2014 00:00
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The World Conference on Youth 2014 (WCY 2014) will take place from 5 to 10 May in Colombo. The underlying theme of WCY 2014 is ‘Mainstreaming Youth in the Post 2015 Development Agenda’.
The conference will bring together youth from the world over with a special focus on underrepresented youth with a gender and regional balance.
In total, 1,500 youth will be selected representing different countries with young people from groups identified as unrepresented or underrepresented.
All expenses of youth representatives selected to attend the conference will be borne by the organisers. WCY 2014 will also bring representatives of member states including Ministers of Youth, UN officials, representatives of other international and regional organisations, academics, corporate leaders and other relevant stakeholders to Colombo.
WCY 2014 will facilitate a process that strengthens effective youth participation in the planning, implementation and evaluation of post 2015 development agenda, which refers to the process of defining the future global development framework that will succeed the Millennium Development Goals.
The conference will also create an inclusive platform for youths that enable them to review the progress of MDGs, share ideas, experiences and innovative approaches for effectively contributing to the post MDG framework and its implementation.
The conference will be organised by an International Youth Task Force (IYTF) in collaboration with the National Task Force appointed by the Youth Affairs and Skills Development Ministry.
The IYTF comprises 20 youth where 10 of whom are young leaders from around the world representing established international youth-led and youth serving organisations and 10 young leaders from Sri Lanka.
The IYTF, which convened in Colombo for its second meeting, has finalised the thematic areas of WCY 2014 and discussed matters pertaining to conference logistics and the participation of young people.
The members of the IYTF also hosted a discussion with officials from the United Nations Country Team in Colombo and explored ways of collaborating further with the UN system.
