International Symposium
‘Youth Participation and Empowerment – Getting Beyond the Rhetoric and Slogans’
Venue: Ronil Beach Resort, Goa, India
Dates: 29th October – 2nd November, 2007
Convener: International Council on National Youth Policy (ICNYP) with support from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. (Australia)
Symposium Starting Points:
Central to the building of strong, healthy and inclusive communities and nations is the active participation of young men and women. So often this participation is adult defined, lead and structured. In reality, it is quite tokenistic in terms of the scope and level of youth responsibility and leadership. The frustration of many young people was expressed well by South African Mathagonda Magapi – ‘we as young people always yearn for something that we never really get – a feeling of control of our situation, and of our lives’.
The International Council on National Youth Policy is totally committed to supporting the full and meaningful participation, leadership and empowerment of young people in the design, implementation, evaluation and re-orientation of youth strategies and action plans. ICNYP encourages the creation of supportive environments and programs at the community and national levels which enable young women and men to be proactive in facilitating positive change. ICNYP recognises that across the globe there are many exciting examples of where young people are designing and leading initiatives which are making a difference in terms of community and national life.
This International Symposium seeks to bring together such young people with youth policy and program makers to share experiences, ideas and aspirations and to identify what motivates and sustains successful youth designed and lead actions.
This Symposium seeks a balance of 75% youth activists (15 – 30 years old) and 25% youth policy and program makers (all ages). The focus of the Symposium is listening to the experiences and ideas of young people who have ‘stepped up’ and have made a significant impact on their societies through their actions. This Symposium seeks to take the advice of Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General – ‘Normally when we need to know about something we go to the experts, but we tend to forget that when we want to know about youth and what they feel and what they want, then we should talk to them’.
The critical outcome of the Symposium will be a clear understanding of the type of policy and practice environment that supports and sustains young men and women to design, implement and monitor initiatives that make a real difference at both the community and nation building levels.
For further information and registration forms visit http://www.bankofideas.com.au/Goa/
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