CAIRO: While it is unreasonable to expect youth to prevent ongoing wars, they can still help build a more peaceful future, said First Lady Suzanne Mubarak on Thursday as she announced that the International Youth Forum “The Power of Youth for Peace will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sept. 1-3.
“Differences, no matter what they are, cannot stand against those who have a desire to make a change, she said.
The forum will play host to some 600 young participants from 100 different countries. It will cover topics such as how youth can contribute to a culture of peace, the role of the media in promoting peace, environmental issues as well as ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and the opportunities it presents in peace building.
Minister of Communications Tarek Kamel said a partnership agreement was signed with the UN Global Alliance for ICT and other bodies such as Microsoft to launch an ICT peace initiative.
“Our presence here aims to promote the ICT for peace initiative, Kamel said, “which will involve six tracks, [such as] developing e-content for peace, ICT skills development and safe internet usage.
Referring to the youth as “ambassadors for human values, Mubarak said that “youth are central to the process of peace, not just because they are the stakeholders of our future but because many of them are already playing decisive roles in shaping our future.
“We must listen to them, she added.
Mubarak also announced the creation of a Youth Unit to continue the efforts of the forum and attempt to act on its results. “This will give us continuity, she said.
The first lady cited research claiming that youth around the world aren’t interested in participating in politics as we imagine (referring to hard-line politics). Therefore, “we need to habilitate them towards it.
She was responding to a query about the role of youth in the political process, and she said that the conventional definition was a narrow one. Youth involvement was more focused on social and cultural assistance, she added.
However, Mubarak did say that she was aiming for a partnership between older generations and youth, a partnership she referred to as “co-management.
“We trust youth, she said, “Egyptian youth are fine. We are aiming to foster a culture of responsibility.
The three-day forum will host a slew of speakers, chief among them football icon Zinedine Zidane and television presenter Riz Khan.
“If youth aren’t given a say in the decisions of war, Mubarak said, “then let their voices be raised in hopes of peace.
