Some of the talking points at the Convention’s Youth Forum:

o Exploring the predominant image of young people today as alienated, apathetic, and uninvolved in their communities. (Point to Yahaya Kiyigi, how can young people get involved in the social and political fabric of UK including the promotion of civil society.
o “Citizens in action: youth in political and public life”: this thematic area will examine the benefits of social and political inclusion of youth as well as mechanisms and processes to engage youth as decision-makers and key stakeholders in their communities. It will particularly reflect on the role of social networking and new media in fostering democracy, inclusion and active participation of youth in public life. Youth activists, members of community and national youth councils, bloggers and youth leaders are particularly encouraged to share their experiences. This Forum also plans examine the contribution that youth can make in their communities, particularly by engaging in post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction. Take example from the London Riot and recent political unrest in Uganda.
o “Countering youth exclusion, vulnerability and violence”: this thematic area will examine the different facets of exclusion and their causal relation with violence and vulnerability among youth. It will look into different types of violence, including street violence, gender based violence and violence in school. The objective would be to identify concrete and innovative ways to address social exclusion as a way to prevent violence affecting youth,
both as victims and as perpetrators, and to address the needs of vulnerable groups. The debate on this sub-theme will build on experiences of youth organizations, testimonies of vulnerable groups of youth participating in the Forum.