When: Wed, 05/20/2020Changsha, a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts in China, will organize a special edition of the International Youth Forum in collaboration with the UNESCO Beijing Office, the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and the Creative City of Nanjing.
The 2020 forum, titled “International Youth Forum on Creativity and Heritage along the Silk Roads: Special Dialogue on Youth’s Response to COVID-19 (IYFSD)”, aims to reflect and highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the future of the interlinked communities. The Forum not only highlights the importance of Youth during the current pandemic but also in the recovery and reshaping of the city afterwards. This year’s online edition will be an occasion to share stories and good practices in fighting the virus and to hear the youth’s voice on the challenges and opportunities they are facing in these trying times.
The International Youth Forum was initiated in 2017 by the city of Changsha. Since 2018, the city of Nanjing has joined forces for the organization of the Forum. Over the past editions, the Forum, through various thematic sessions has engaged youth in further leveraging creativity for sustainable development, as well as encouraged them to participate in the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage. The outcome document of the 2019 edition ‘Changsha Initiative’ highlights the contribution of the youth in realizing Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through culture, heritage and literature.
As a part of the 2020 special edition, the city of Changsha will also launch the new ‘C+C Global Youth Innovation Partnership Plan’. With a special focus on creativity and culture, the plan will build a platform for exchange and mutual learning for young people around the world to help contribute to creative and heritage fields as well as to become more resilient to current and future crises and challenges. To know further about the initiative and the plan, please refer to the video message below from the Mayor of Changsha.
Interested representatives from the public and private sectors, universities, as well as youth from different countries are invited to participate in this virtual event.