Civicus Youth Assembly in Glasgow this June

From Costa Rica to Cameroon, from the Philippines to Peru and from Egypt to El Salvador, 200 young activists from almost 100 different countries will come together in Glasgow this summer for "the most unique youth event of 2008".

Today [Monday] marked the launch of the agenda for the Civicus Youth Assembly to be held in June. The launch was marked using a 'human signpost' in front of the conference venue, the SECC in Glasgow, pointing at just a few of the countries young people will be travelling from.

This year, the second annual assembly, will have an overall theme of "People, Participation and Power', and will focus on the importance of Youth Engagement in tackling some of the biggest issues facing the world today.

Speaking at the agenda launch, Rajiv Joshi, the youngest ever Civicus board Director , said:

" This is Scotland leading the way in bringing together some of the world's most influential young leaders and activists to empower them to do all they can to change the world for the better.

" The Civicus Youth Assembly promises to be the most unique youth event of 2008. Today we are delighted to announce that we will have 200 delegates attending from almost 100 different countries, a huge range of talented young people from diverse backgrounds active in many different contexts and for many different causes.

" The Youth Assembly recognises the ability of young people to make change happen, and offers young people from across the world the opportunity to come together, find connections with other young people and provide them with a strong network for ongoing action globally."

This year the Youth Assembly makes a radical departure from the traditional conference style of panels of experts and Question & Answer sessions; moving towards an active and galvanising approach where delegates not only development knowledge of the issues covered, but also personal and shared capacity to take action.

The Civicus Youth Assembly is organised on behalf of Civicus by Roars not Whispers, a joint project run by Oxfam Scotland and the Scottish Youth Parliament, funded by the Big Lottery Fund. It will be held at the SECC from 16th to 18th June, with youth delegates then joining in the Civicus World Assembly being held the same week. To find out more go to: http://www.rnw.org.uk/CIVICUS2008.aspx

Ends.