Registration Open for the World Heritage Youth Forum

Brazilian government promotes educational meeting on actions in favor of Cultural Heritage with youngsters from 19 countries.

The National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute - Iphan, in partnership with the Brazilian Federation of Youth Hostels, promotes the regional edition of the World Heritage Youth Forum, from 16 to 26 July 2010. The participants are young people (from 18 to 22 years old) from all over Brazil and other 18 countries of South America, Africa and Asia. More information and the registration form are available at www.patrimoniojovem.com.br .

For this Forum, 27 youngsters from Brazil will be selected, one from each State, and another 18 youngsters from the invited Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries from South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. They are Argentine, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Portugal, Spain, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde,  Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea and East Timor. With the exception of Portugal and Spain, all the invited countries are to be assisted by the Regional Training Centre for Heritage Management, a unit of international standard recognized by UNESCO. The Centre is planned to be implemented at Capanema Palace, in Rio de Janeiro.

Each candidate for the Youth Forum must propose a small project about an educational action in favor of Cultural Heritage. The project will be evaluated by a committee composed by representatives of Iphan, Hostelling International and other partners of Iphan’s Heritage Homes network.

The Youth Forum will bring together students, community leaders, members of associations linked to World Heritage sites and members of the international Youth Hostels. The youngsters will participate in workshops, cultural events, debates and tours to four of the 17 Brazilian sites inscribed as World Heritage: Foz do Iguaçu, Missions of São Miguel, Goiás and Brasilia. The goals of these activities are the exchange of experiences and the presentation of educational tools focused on the involvement of communities in the collective construction of knowledge, and on the development of sustainable social use of these sites, which are important references to cultural diversity and identities.

Online applications will be open until 5 July – spread the news, participate!