Application Deadline Extended: April 30th 2016
From 19 to 21 July 2016 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) organizes a Youth Forum that will take place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya as part of a larger event, namely the
fourteenth session of the Ministerial Conference of UNCTAD (UNCTAD 14) from 17 to 22 July.
If you are a student or a young professional between the age of 18 to 30, you are interested in trade and development issues, want to debate with other millennials from all continents to contribute to shaping the future you want-which is the theme of UNCTAD Youth Forum, and to participate in the Forum, please read carefully what follows.
Objectives of the UNCTAD Forum
• Allow Youth to raise awareness with global leaders participating in UNCTAD 14 on issues they consider of major concern and that they want to see included in the world agenda
• Raise awareness about UNCTAD’s work and projects among Youth
• Give Youth the opportunity to interact with global leaders and learn from their experience
• Create a network of future leaders from different places around the world.
The Forum consists of a three-day event from 19 to 21 July 2016. It will cover topics that have been identified by Youth worldwide to be major issues of concern following a United Nations survey that was carried out in 2015. These are better education,more and better jobs and state accountability.
Participation Requirements:
Participants in the Forum will be pre-selected based on the following criteria:
• Be between the age of 18 and 30
• Able to speak in and understand English
• Have a valid passport (for applicants outside of Kenya)
• Have experience (from their studies or work) in the areas of work of UNCTAD.
Evidence of projects related to trade and development (academic and professional) will be
considered as experience in the field; participants will be invited to describe their experience in their video and/or letter of Motivation.
Funding
- UNCTAD will invite its member States, and the private sector, to provide a contribution for the travel, accommodation and organizational costs related to the Youth Forum.
- As funds are made available by donors and sponsors, successful applicants will receive confirmation of the funding opportunities available.
- Applicants are also invited to look for their own sources of funding to attend the Forum (please note that self-funding will not form part of the selection criteria; all applications will be considered on the same basis)
Selection Criteria
- The Youth Forum is designed for a maximum attendance of 250 participants from all continents.
- The selection criteria will be based on principles of equitable geographical representation, balanced gender distribution, diversity of backgrounds (e.g. age, areas of studies and additional experience), and the quality of the material attached to the application, explaining the contribution of the participant to the Forum (e.g. originality in the video and letter of motivation)
- A Committee from UNCTAD will select Youth Forum participants.
- If you are not selected to come to Nairobi, you can still participate in the preparatory process of discussions and follow the event in Nairobi via social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Application process
The application process consists of two steps:
Step 1- Click on the application link and fill in the online form. Please ensure that you:
- Create a short video ( maximum two minutes and mp4 format only) demonstrating your motivation for participating in UNCTAD Youth Forum.
- Creativity and originality are encouraged.
- You can upload the video from a computer to for instance Youtube or Vimeo as follows:
o To YouTube:
1) Sign into your YouTube account;
2) Click on “Upload” at the top of the page;
3) Select the video you would like to upload from your computer;
4) Click “ Publish” to finish uploading. If you set the video privacy setting to Private or Unlisted, just click” Done” to finish the upload or click“ Share” to privately share your video.
For more guidance, please see: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407?hl=en
- To Vimeo:
1) Sign into your Vimeo account. - 2) Click the “Upload Video” button which is located on the home page of the site;
- 3) Once you click the upload link, you will be taken to the upload page;
- 4) Click the “Choose a File to Upload” button which will launch an upload dialog box. Choose the file that you want to upload and then click on “Select”.
- For more guidance, please see: https://vimeo.com/help/faq/uploading-to-vimeo
Fully complete the online application form, including the URL of your video and, in the space provided therefore, your letter of motivation ( 300 words maximum). The letter of
motivation should address some of the following points:
o Why do you want to participate in the Forum?
o In which way do you intend to contribute to the Forum?
o What knowledge and skills have you gathered from any previous experience and
how will these be useful?
Step 2 – Provide a letter of recommendation from a high-level official or authority at a University or Organization.
The letter must be sent to the email address unctad14@unctad.org and clearly mention your name.
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