World Youth Summit 2015 at Imphal
Date : 29th March - 2nd April 2015

PRE-MEDIA EVENT & LAUNCHING OF OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF WORLD YOUTH SUMMIT 2015

Today, the 18th of December 2014, Thursday, the Pre- Media Event and official website (www.worldyouthsummit.in) launching of World Youth Summit 2015 is being organized by The Club25 International Manipur at the Classic Hotel, Imphal at 01.00 pm with the official announcement of “Manipur will host the biggest event of youths of the world – THE WORLD YOUTH SUMMIT 2015” at City Convention Centre, Imphal from 29th March - 2nd April 2015 .

The Event is hosted by The Club25 International Manipur (an International organization for the promotion of young blood donors and youth empowerment) which has its branches in more than 95 countries worldwide with the support from International Youth Committee, Government of India, Government of Manipur, World Fund from Youth (WFY), Imphal Office, World Youth Foundation, Malaysia, Manipur University, and various other public and private sectors undertaking. The Summit will bring about 1500 young leaders from across 200 countries at Imphal in March 2015. This year cross - cutting theme is on “YOUTH FOR GLOBAL EMPOWERMENT” which is focus on seven (7) thematic areas:
i) Conservation of Biodiversity for Sustainability, Disaster Risk Reductions and Youth Centered Urbanization;
ii) Eco- Tourism Development in North – East India and it’s linkage to ASEAN Countries;
iii) Youth against Hunger – Poverty Eradication, Food and Nutrition Security;
iv) Realizing Youth for Equal access to quality education and health;
v) Ensuring inclusive recreation, sports and heritage;
vi) Preservation of Indigenous people and our heritage;
vii) Social Justice and – Gender Equality, Realizing peace, Reconciliation and Ending Violence.

Recently, we had organized “Global Youth Meets 2014” at Imphal in February 2014. A total of 450 foreigners from 19 countries had attended the Meets which is also one of the biggest youth event in India, first time in North – East Region, and best outcome on disaster risk reduction in the world. The Event, being first of its kind, demands huge arrangement in terms of the accommodation, transportation, meals, security and financial issues to the organizers.

Top speakers invited includes Hon’ble PM of India Shri Narendra Modi, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiran Rijiju, DONER Minister Jitendra Singh, Myanmar Democracy Leader Aung Sann Suu Ki, Renowned Author Shiv Khera, Former President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Hollywood Actor & Ex-governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Reliance Foundation Chairman, Sri Anil Ambani, Top UNO officials, etc.

Hosting such an event in this picturesque state with full of tourist potentials, youth problems, social contradiction, high unemployment, etc., is a great opportunity both to make aware of the problems and also to expose our youths to the world. Organizing an event in such a magnitude with more than 1500 delegates from over 200 countries is really a challenging task. Without full co-operation from the state government and other public and private sectors, it is not possible to hold such a mega event.

The Main activities during the summit will includes Opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner, Cultural Presentation from Different Countries, Grand Lecture Session, Sharing Experiences from Different Countries, Finalization of International Youth Action Plans, Field trip, Closing Ceremony and Farewell Party.

OBJECTIVE OF THE SUMMIT:

i) A global network of young people across the world empower to share experiences and exchange ideas on various global issues.;
ii) To create an inclusive youth participation platform that enables young people to review the progress on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
iii) To share ideas, experiences and innovative approaches for effectively contributing to the post-2015 development agenda and its implementation
iv) To facilitate a process that increases awareness on and implementation of the World Programme for Action on Youth (WPAY)
v) To facilitate effective partnerships with youth, youth-led organizations and youth movements to further strengthen inclusive youth participation in the decision-making processes and implementation of the post-2015 development agenda
vi) To contribute to the establishment of a permanent youth engagement mechanism that ensures consistent follow- up with young people and further boosts their participation and partnership in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda at national, regional and global levels.
vii) International Youth Project designed at the conference to be implemented in different countries;
viii) Ongoing face book and other social networking discussions;
ix) Recommendation made during the Summit will be send for policy formulation to both Local and National Governments and other International Organization like, UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF and other bodies on youth resilience, rebuilding communities and disaster response.

EXPECTED OUTCOME OF THE SUMMIT:

1) Strengthening a new global network of young people across the world empowered to share experiences and exchange ideas on youth led activities especially on conservation of biodiversity and to eradicate poverty, etc.;
2) Encourage youth –led projects designed during the Summit to be implemented in different countries;
3) Aim to stop activities which contribute to environment degradation, such as pollution, the overexploitation of natural resources, the spread of invasive alien species, and climate change;
4) Urge governments to implement national legislation and enforce judgments to address environmental degradation and support civil society and the private sector to ensure that their actions do not adversely affect biodiversity;
5) Encourage environmentally – friendly lifestyles, including the sustainable use of resources, and the use of clean renewable energies;
6) Encourage participation in activities at the local and national levels that stimulate business, civil society and governments to promote the sustainable use of biodiversity;
7) aim to collaborate with international campaigns and initiatives, and improve international networks for coordinated action regarding the sustainable use of biodiversity;
8) Pledge to take further action in deepening and spreading the awreness of the fundamental value of biodiversity;
9) Aim to create reliable partnerships between all stakeholders for the conservation of biodiversity, bearing in mind the value of their respective knowledge;
10) Encourage youth to create a global biodiversity platform in order to increase international cooperation among youth organizations byh sharing their respective practices;
11) We realize that over one billion of the world population lives in poverty, facing daily the unacceptable conditions of hunger and malnutrition, disease, homelessness, unsafe environments and social exclusion, and that the majority of this population consists of young people, three quarters of them living in rural areas. We feel that the cycle of indebtedness of developing countries is a major contributor to hunger and poverty, and note with sorrow that debt forgiveness is not being implemented in accordance with the expediency and urgency of the need;
12) We are highly concerned about the continued deterioration of the status of youth worldwide, who face growing levels of unemployment, poverty, armed conflict, epidemic diseases, functional illiteracy and substance abuse - among other social and economic challenges -despite global advances made in technologies, entrepreneurship development, medical research, leisure and recreation facilities;
13) We recognize that in spite of progress made in basic education, inequity based on economic and social conditions, sex and disabilities continues to persist, leaving millions of children and young people out of school. Additionally, we acknowledge that youth continue to lose lives to acute respiratory infections, vaccination-preventable diseases and malnutrition. These risks continue to result in the loss of lives to a very large scale. Violence and suicide are also growing factors of youth mortality. We also recognize that the access to quality child and youth-friendly health services as well as health education are still issues that need to be seriously addressed;
14) We note that women, particularly young women and girls, are the most vulnerable and most affected by social and economic problems and in times of armed conflict, and that their status as equal partners in youth development and empowerment is essential in overcoming the societal imbalances that continue to prevail;
15) We are highly concerned about the prevalence of human rights violations with regard to young people, such as child labour, trafficking and sexual exploitation, children and youth in armed conflict and living in countries under occupation, and the exclusion of children and youth infected and affected by AIDS, including those orphaned by it. We choose to dedicate this session of the World Youth Forum to identifying and advocating for initiatives that empower young people to have greater control over their individual and collective destinies, and their ability to effectively contribute to the advancement of the global community;
16) To fight effectively against hunger and poverty a comprehensive approach needs to involve all parts of civil society, especially youth, in the policy making and implementation areas of hunger, poverty and debt at all levels. The cancellation of external debts is not only a precondition for any effective fight against hunger and poverty; it also frees funding for investment in education, health and youth. The monitoring of the use of this funding and the implementation of poverty eradication strategies shall be monitored by civil society and youth organizations. In the process of globalization, more and more decisions are being taken at the international level (for example by the WTO, IMF and World Bank) having a strong impact on national policies without the installation any system of checks and balances. Governments and the United Nations must ensure full and comprehensive representation of civil society, youth organizations and developing nations in all global and multilateral decision-making forums. For ensuring the minimum standard of life for everyone governments shall install social safety nets and give social assistance for young people in need facing difficulties beyond their control;
17) To form a youth network which could generate mechanisms to ensure the participation of young representatives in reconciliation process, negotiation and peace building;
18) To demand compensation and justice for slavery, colonization and marginalization as crimes against humanity;
19) To develop and support the education of a culture of peace in programmes of schools in all levels. We encourage sport programs that are specially for disabled people and encourage the participation of disabled people in the regular sports activities at all levels;
20) We call on future World Youth Forum to lead by example and remove the causes of marginalization and provide access to services for youth with disabilities;
21) We ultimately call upon Governments, the United Nations System and civil society organizations to support young people in their endeavors to obtain the resources for extensive and comprehensive youth empowerment programmes.

It will brings together young delegates from all over the world to exchange views, share experiences on different issues, detect common preoccupations and to develop realistic action plans to rebuild communities that meet the needs and aspirations of young people. The event allows people to voice their ideas and concerns and make suggestions directly.

Today’s youth are arising to shape the present and futures of their countries. They want to be heard, to be included in decision making debates and to make change. Student’s engagement, social innovation, fostering democracy, youth employment, conflict and sustainable development are amongst the issues that have been discussed on the floor of the “WORLD YOUTH SUMMIT 2015”.

The summit will foster information exchange between persons who have faced many different types of issues (not directly human – made, although many have significant contributory factors from human activity and environmental change).

The Summit will bring together youth aged 18 to 29 from the world over. However, there are opportunities for those over 29 years to attend the organization as civil society representatives, media personnel, academia and representatives of the corporate sector.

There are different categories of youth participants:
1) International Youth Delegates (350 people): Direct applications can be done on the website and are focused on a few categories:
2) Youth from international youth-led organizations (78 people) - to represent international networks/organizations and regional youth platforms active at the international level.
3) Youth from marginalized backgrounds (150 people) - to make sure that voices of young people who are often ignored are given space.
4) Youth leaders/experts (60 people) - to ensure that youth activists, trade unions, faith-based groups and political parties, academics and those engaging in development negotiations are involved.
5) Indian Youth Delegates: As host country, India will select 100 young Indians to participate
6) National Youth Delegates (2 per country/400 people): They are to be selected by governments in cooperation with National Youth Councils (where they exist) or by a committee of young people when a National Youth Council doesn’t exist. If you are part of a National Youth Council or a young person active nationally, you should first contact the ministry responsible for youth and/or the National Youth Council to apply nationally.
7) Facilitators (42 people): To support the running of the Summit and help lead thematic discussions.
8) Social Media Fellows (30 people): To make sure that the outreach of the conference is high and all young people communicating in different languages can follow the conference.
WYS 2015 will also bring representatives of Member States, including Ministers of Youth, UN officials, representatives of other international and regional organizations, academics, corporate leaders and other relevant stakeholders to Imphal.

There are 5 Awards to be presented:
a) Global Youth Award 2015
b) Best Presenter Award
c) The Club25 International Award
d) Best Participant Award
e) Best Group Presentation Award
We are making Manipur – a World Class Conference Tourism Destination. Looking forward from our local people for their kind support and Co-operation.

For any details:
WORLD YOUTH SUMMIT SECRETARIAT
GLOBAL YOUTH HOUSE,
POROMPAT CHUTHEK, IMPHAL EAST, MANIPUR – 795001
Website: www.worldyouthsummit.in
E-mail: [email protected]
TELEPHONE: +91 0385 – 2443324 FAX: +91 0385 2443335