Youth and Cultural Inclusion

IISD has been striving to empower young people, reaching out to them, responding to their expectations and ideas, fostering useful and long-lasting skills.

The United Nations define youth as persons between the ages of 15 and 24. The young people are a heterogeneous group in constant evolution and that the experience of ‘being young’ varies enormously.  Young people are generally interested in a culture of teamwork, democratic participation and concrete action and results. 

The organisation recognises the need to build greater awareness among the younger generations of the importance of protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions as well as the intangible cultural heritage and of its safeguarding. Accordingly, the organisation has been conducting educational, awareness-raising and information programmes, aimed at the general public, in particular young people to integrate their catalyst role as the future parents and citizens, and more importantly as the partners in sustainable human development, including the furtherance of the diversity of cultural expressions.

Awareness-raising and information dissemination on the diversity of cultural expressions programmes being conducted by the organisation for the young people; include; symposia, workshops, seminars and public fora as well as exhibitions, concerts, festivals, competitions, international days, and exposure visits to the tangible cultural sites etc. In this context, networkings and partnerships with the youth forums are integrated into the programmes. The thrust has been to cover the youth from the socially and economically marginalised population groups and excluded geographical regions.