New York City will host a gathering of young leaders on International Youth Day with a single goal: reshaping the world. Six hundred young people from around the world will gather on August 12-14 in Las Vegas for the 27th Session of The Youth Assembly. They will build global action networks and engage in discussions with global institutions, advocacy groups, multinational companies, and impact-driven organizations.
“We must place young people at the center of creating positive change in the world,” says Daniel Obst, President and CEO of AFS Intercultural Programs, the global not-for-profit organizer. “We know young people have the ideas and skills to make a difference, and we are excited to provide this global platform that will help them shape the world they want to live in.”
In line with the UN Secretary General’s Report on Our Common Agenda, the Youth Assembly program will address pressing challenges related to Youth, Global Health, Global Citizenship, Technology and Inclusion. As a way to celebrate and also to focus on our world’s greatest asset, our youngest generations, the event launches on International Youth Day. Achieving a better world requires long-term planning and meaningful, diverse and effective engagement of 1.2 billion young people around the world. The Youth Assembly provides an opportunity to engage young people in tackling current and future challenges. As part of the opening ceremony scheduled at the UN, participants will have the opportunity to reflect, debate, and come up with new ideas on sustainable development.
BP, AstraZeneca, DHL, Schwarzman Scholars, and others have provided scholarships to one-fourth of the delegates attending this event, ensuring equity and inclusion. Participants will compete for a $10,000 AFS Award for Young Global Citizens to support ongoing social impact ventures that address the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
AFS Intercultural Programs organizes the Youth Assembly, which empowers young people with global skills and the passion to make a difference through intercultural learning. A number of partners are involved in this program, including Candid, DoSomething.org, Pencils for Promise, PWC, Terracycle, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, UN Habitat, UNICEF, University of Pennsylvania Center for Social Impact Strategy, USAID, the World Bank, and many more.
More information at: youthassembly.org