ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP):United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has made a major push to empower youth, recognizing their role as the ultimate force for change and noting that they have proven their power in support of the cause of disarmament.
The General Assembly also reaffirmed the important and positive contribution that young people can make to the promotion and attainment of sustainable development and peace, unanimously adopting a new resolution titled “Youth, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control”,said a press release issued here.
To that end, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, with generous financial support from the Government of Germany, is calling on young people to apply for an innovative learning programme aimed at empowering them to work for disarmament in their communities.
The programme offers 10 scholarships for young people between the ages of 18 and 24 from across the globe.
The Office for Disarmament Affairs is seeking youth who are motivated to use their talents to help raise awareness and promote change for a more peaceful and secure world. In addition to young people interested in international affairs, the programme encourages those with a background in history, sciences, economics, languages, film, media, dance, song, theatre, visual art, creative writing or other fields to submit applications.
The intention is to bring together an eclectic and geographically diverse group of advocates for disarmament.
The 10 selected youth champions will receive training in general principles of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control through online courses and a two-week in-person study tour in Vienna, Geneva, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
They will exchange ideas with disarmament experts from think tanks, civil society organizations and the diplomatic field, and develop a plan to engage their communities on issues related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. The Office for Disarmament Affairs will provide support, including mentoring and guidance, throughout the programme.
The call for applications for the United Nations Youth Champions for Disarmament training programme will be launched at an event today, on the margins of a dialogue with youth participants under the #Youth4Disarmament Initiative.
The dialogue marks the seventy-fourth anniversary of the first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, which established the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons.
