CAIRO - 15 October 2017: Under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the tourist attraction city of Sharm el-Sheikh will host the World Youth Forum (WYF) from November 4-10.
The forum will bring together 3,000 youths represented by 60 delegations from across the world to explore key issues facing their generation, and determine their role in implementing the global development goals and in facing terrorism.
In July, the president announced organizing the WYF in Sharm el-Sheikh during the fourth National Youth Conference in Alexandria.
The seven-day gathering will witness the participation of official youth representatives over 18 years of age, leaders of various youth networks, head of states, media figures and around 250 young Egyptian expats. It will be held under the theme "We Need to Talk."
The WYF agenda
The full agenda for the World Youth Forum has been published on its official website.
The first two days of the forum will witness the arrival of the participants from all over the world and the opening session.
The actual discussion sessions are planned to start on November 6, where participants will discuss a number of issues, including differences among cultures and civilizations, discussion of the “AU Theme of the Year: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investments in Youth” as well as the youth vision to achieving sustainable development at a global level.
World Youth Forum Agenda- Photo credit WYF official website.
The sessions will also involve international experiences in implementing strategies of sustainable development, a panel discussion on the adverse impacts of irregular migration on youth around the world, reviewing means of cooperation in the field of irregular migration in the Mediterranean region.
The sessions will also answer questions on how literature and arts can mend what conflicts and wars destroy as well as on how the world creates its leaders.
On November 7, the sessions will tackle challenges and issues facing world youth, entrepreneurship and innovation, the Egyptian experience in hosting refugees as well as innovative youth experiences in entrepreneurship.
The sessions are also set to cover capitalizing on the potentials of young people to achieve development, dialogue among generations, the cultural dimension of globalization and its impact on youth’s cultural identity in addition to humanitarian issues and world peace.
Sessions on the second day will also tackle promoting youth participation in decision-making and inspiring experiences from young people around the world.
On November 8, the sessions will highlight the role of civil society organizations in achieving sustainable development goals, the future of global climate change, the impact of technology on education in addition to women’s role in decision-making circles.
The sessions will also tackle means to enhance women’s political, social and economic participation, youth and the age of technology, rebuilding state institutions in conflict zones, youth contribution to building and keeping peace in conflict and post-conflict zones as well as youth social responsibility and volunteering.
Sessions on the third day will also address the role of cinema in combating extremism, the cultural identity as a tool to combat violence and religious extremism, the impact of war and conflict in eroding the identity of young people as well as leadership in the age of technology.
The fourth and last day, November 9, will have the forum's closing session and voting on a draft resolution.
The idea of holding an international youth conference in Egypt came during the third National Conference of Youth (NYC) in Ismailya, and was approved by the president.
The WYF message
The WYF sends to the world messages of peace, creativity and development.
All for Peace message - Photo credit WYF Facebook page
The WYF also seeks to provide recent information about vital global issues of concern for further discussion by participants in the forum.
The WYF preparations
Believing that young people are not only future leaders but also present leaders, the forum will be fully organized by young people.
It will be sponsored by national businesses including banks, as part of their social responsibility. Furthermore, the office of the president will follow closely the details pertaining to forum preparations.
A dedicated team was formed to prepare for the forum. In addition, several committees were established to follow up on certain issues like logistics, content, public relations, media, budget and coordination.
The committees are formed of representatives of all ministries and governmental organizations in addition to the youth team.
The registration process for the forum was launched in August; applicants were requested to propose ideas to be discussed during the forum.
Egypt has organized four national youth conferences under the auspices and participation of Sisi and other high-level officials.
The conferences discussed issues of concern and priority for Egyptian youth. The conferences were organized in Sharm el-Sheikh, Aswan, Ismailia and Alexandria respectively.
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