Bangkok: World Youth Summit tackles terrorism, immigration and the environment
Bangkok (AsiaNews) - Education, environment, global economy, human rights, security and peacekeeping, are the main themes of the sixth One Young World Summit, the Congress of 1350 represented (between 18 and 30 years) from 195 countries meeting in Bangkok November 18 to 21.
The association, founded in the UK by Kate Robertson and David Jones aims to provide an opportunity for new generations to build networks that bring together all parts of the globe, going beyond the economic and cultural differences of the different countries.
It is the first time a summit of this kind has been organized in Asia and this year includes, among others, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Catholic priest nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 Fr. Mussie Zerai.
The opening ceremony was held on November 18 at Pramane Ground Bangkok. Sukhumphan Boriphat, governor of the Thai capital, said he was happy to host an event that "will help solve the problems of the social order in the world taking a cue from Bangkok, the new economic center of Asia. It is an appropriate time in view of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which should be approved by 2015 ".
Dressed in traditional clothing, young people from Thailand, China, Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Italy and France led the inaugural celebrations.
Fr. Mussie Zerai, is known for his work with migrants crossing the Mediterranean. In his speech on human rights he recalled how today there are more refugees in the world during the Second World War. The priest then underlined the importance of social media as a tool to resolve the emergency and defend human rights.
In a session with Kofi Annan, a young Lebanese expressed his concern following the attacks in Beirut and Paris, asking what they the younger generation can do to make the world safer.
Annan responded by saying that "all terrorist attacks want to communicate the message that no place is safe. The problem of terrorism should be resolved through political authorities sitting around the table to prevent terrorist acts from happening again. You must not be afraid, but be very careful. We never give our leaders an excuse to take away our freedom. "
Some young people were selected during the Summit to prepare videos on current issues to be presented to the Thai Prime Minister Payut Chan o-cha. Some Thai chose the issue of the environment, concerned about global warming and anxious to know the results of the Climate Conference in Paris (COP 21, 30 November to 11 December) that will see the participation of 20 UN countries.
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27/06/2008
15/03/2016 13:05
