African Regional Youth Forum for World Heritage

DATE : 28th April – 4th May 2016

VENUE: Robben Island World Heritage property, South Africa

ORGANISERS : The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), Robben Island Museum (RIM) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre

WITH THE SUPPORT OF : South African Government and African Union

It responds to the interest expressed by States Parties to hold a youth forum at a regional level as well as to the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Africa Region, which called for increased involvement and benefits for local communities in World Heritage

Eligibility Requirement:

• Young citizens from the African continent;
• Aged from 20 to 28 years old with fluent English (no interpretation will be provided);
• Available to attend for the full length of the event and invest time to prepare and follow up the forum;
• Motivated, active and driven individuals interested in engaging in a World Heritage network of young African youth and eager to implement the outcomes of the forum in their home countries
• Individuals passionate about heritage in their country.

• Lectures and presentations from experts and heritage specialists will provide an introduction to the 1972 World Heritage Convention, the Action Plan for World Heritage in the Africa Region, and the challenges of conservation and development.
• Hands-on / practical activities that provide some basic skills on heritage conservation, preservation and/or promotion of African heritage.
• Group discussions and workshops.
• Guided visit to an African World Heritage site with expert input.
• Presentations by the participants on heritage related issues in their own country.
• Participation in a Youth Model of the World Heritage Committee, an educational simulation drawing attention of the young people to the issues related to heritage preservation and promotion in the Africa region and how the World Heritage Committee works.

• The working language for the forum is English.

• The costs for the forum will be covered by the organizers; the African World Heritage Fund and Robben Island Museum (i.e. airfare, accommodation, meals and local transport within South Africa during the forum)

Application Process:

• The completed application form.
• A motivation letter (maximum 1 page) detailing your motivations and experiences related to World Heritage;
• A curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum);
• A signed letter of recommendation from a university, organization or administrative authority/supervisor;
• A short video (maximum 2 minutes) showcasing how youth are or could promote and/or safeguard World Heritage sites (or a site) in your African country;
• Your videos should be: creative, innovative,surprising, but most important of all is to have fun!
• Your videos need to comply with the following criteria: Clip length 2minutes max imum and format: “AVI” only.

• Profile confirms with requirements;
• Completed application package (form, CV, motivation letter, recommendation letter & video);
• Diversity and complementarities of experiences among participants;
• Potential to act as multiplier;
• Gender and geographic balance;

• The attendance during the full length of the forum is mandatory.
• Participants should be committed to invest time to prepare and follow up the Youth Forum.

Application

• The complete application package should be submitted at the latest on the 31st January 2016 (9am GMT) via the following email address: [email protected].
• For any queries or problems during application process, please contact AWHF ( Pamela Mac Quilkan: [email protected]) with copy to UNESCO (Carméla Quin: [email protected])
• Applications sent to these emails will not be accepted, please send to the stipulated email address: [email protected].
• Applicants will be selected by a jury consisting of representatives from the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) , Robben Island Museum ( RIM), UNESCO World Heritage Centre,
  and the African Union.
• Successful applicants will be informed by 26th February 2016 at the latest.

Download and Fill out the Application Form

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the African World Heritage Regional Youth Forum 2016