Jordan to host UN-supported youth forum this month

AMMAN — Jordan, in partnership with the UN and international civil society organisations, will host the first Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security, August 21-22, 2015, at King’s Academy in Madaba, 35km south of Amman.

The global forum will be held under the Patronage of HRH Crown Prince Hussein, and co-organised, on behalf of the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, by the Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, the UN Peace-building Support Office, the UN Population Fund and the UN Development Programme, Search for Common Ground and the United Network of Young Peace-builders, a Royal Court statement said.

The statement said the forum originates from a thematic debate at the UN Security Council that was organised by Jordan in April 2015, during its presidency of the council. Presiding over the session, the Crown Prince delivered a speech in which he expressed Jordan’s readiness to host the first international forum focused on youth’s role in building sustainable peace. 

“This youth-driven event is envisaged as a turning point towards establishing a new international agenda on youth, peace and security,” the statement said.

Over the course of two days, the forum will bring together 500 participants from all over the world, primarily young people, youth-led organisations, senior governmental and UN officials, international non-governmental organisations, foundations and donor agencies, academics and media.

A key outcome of the global forum will be the “Amman Youth Declaration” that reflects young people’s vision of their role in preventing and transforming conflict, countering violent extremism and building peace. In the months following the forum, the declaration will be used to engage high-level decision makers to adopt a new international framework.