The Innovation Conference offers a unique opportunity to gather a variety of involved experts, civil society members, of the academic world and the private sector, in order to promote sustainable development. The primary objective of the fair, as defined by ECOSOC, is to: "Promote an exchange of practical examples of what has worked to help identify polices that merit scaling-up." Costa Rica, 18 - 19 June 2008.

Within the framework of the plenary session of the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) UN ECOSOC, which will take place in New York in July 2008, the Regional Innovation Conference 'Youth: the Core of Sustainable Development' organized by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory in collaboration with the Fundación Diagrama, ILINUD and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of Costa Rica, will focus on the relationship between Sustainable Development and Youth.

AMR Regional Innovation Fair Conference offers a unique opportunity to gather a variety of involved experts, civil society members, of the academic world and the private sector, in order to promote sustainable development. The Conference will cover the following topics:

* Subjet 1: The Impact of Sustainable Development on Youth.
* Subjet 2: Youth Sustainable Development : Innovations.

The ECOSOC´s Annual Ministerial Review (AMR), to be held in New York in July 2008, focuses on: "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development." In order to identify the programs and policies which have contributed to achieve these goals and commitments, the Fundación Diagrama together with the UN-DESA-NGO Section of ECOSOC, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of Costa Rica and the participation of ILANUD and the International Juvenile Justice Observatory organize the Regional Innovation Conference for Latin America "Youth: the Core of Sustainable Development" in Costa Rica in June 2008.

Within the framework of the plenary session of the UN ECOSOC, which will take place in New York in July 2008, the Regional Innovation Conference "Youth: the Core of Sustainable Development" will focus more specifically on the relationship between Sustainable Development and Youth. As sustainable development tries to "meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", therefore today's youth comprise the first of such future generations that are involved and affected. Almost 20% of Latin America's current population is young people between the ages of 15 and 24. This segment of the population has specific needs, as well as unique abilities to promote the Millennium Goals.

Within the AMR process, the Innovation Conference offers a unique opportunity to gather a variety of involved experts, civil society members, of the academic world and the private sector, in order to promote sustainable development. The primary objective of the fair, as defined by ECOSOC, is to:

"Promote an exchange of practical examples of what has worked to help identify polices that merit scaling-up."

In order to make this exchange possible, the Conference will bring together experts and practitioners to share best practices and successful models based on their experiences in the field of sustainable development and youth.

Each of the topics listed below will be addressed from a local to a regional level, focusing on community projects and programs that have been successful for Latin America as a whole. This cross-sectional dialogue offers a unique opportunity for professionals operating within different spheres, but with the same objectives, to interact with each other.

The 2008 Latin American Regional Innovation Conference will cover the following topics:

    I. The Impact of Sustainable Development on Youth.
 
    II. Youth Sustainable Development : Innovations.

Objectives

Innovate in the development of strategies to incorporate the challenges of youth and the sustainable development principles in national and international policies.
Improve and renovate national and international programmes in order to treat efficiently the basic needs of youngsters.
Explore ideas to ensure healthy lifestyles and sustainable livelihood for youngsters.
Improve training projects for youngsters in order to provide them with better and greater development opportunities.
Research new ways to invest in future generations.
Exchange knowledge, good practices and efficient models based on practical experiences.

Expected results

The results of this Conference will be presented as a debate and analysis document at the Annual Ministerial Revision (AMR) of the ECOSOC which will be held in New York en July 2008: "Put into practice the internationally agreed objectives and commitments regarding sustainable development".
The Conference is the link between activities related to the Iberian-American Convention on the Rights of Youngsters of 2005 and the next Iberian-American Summit. It is also Developer within the framework of the Iberian-American Year of Youth.
Obtain elements that serve as indicators to assess the success of the Millennium Goals related to youngsters.

More information here