The overall objective of the Conference is to develop an international framework for involving youth across the world to be active partners in community safety and crime prevention within the context of sustainable development. The Summit is to take place in Durban at the Chief Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre from 17 to 21 June 2008.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Community Safety and Liaison hosted a Youth Leaders Against Crime Summit in June 2005, and the Honourable Mr B.H. Cele, MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison was thereafter invited by the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Dr Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, to the World Urban Forum Third Session held in Canada in 2006.

At that Session, the KZN Department of Community Safety & Liaison lead by Ms Yasmin Bacus, the head of department, initiated a bid for the Province of KwaZulu-Natal to host the United Nations 2008 International Youth Crime Prevention and Cities Summit (hereafter referred to as ‘the Summit’). The bid was successful and the Summit is to take place in Durban at the Chief Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre from 17 to 21 June 2008.

The Summit is aimed at raising the profile of youth empowerment issues globally and will serve as a strategic platform for young people and organisations serving young people ahead of the Fourth Session of the World Urban Forum to be held in the City of Nanjing, China in 2008.

The international community accepts that youth have a critical role to play in designing safer communities and youth programmatic responses must include proactive strategies that address crime and violence as part of the normalisation of society. Poverty, unemployment and instability are inextricably linked to crime and violence. Disadvantaged youth all over the world are more vulnerable to falling prey to criminal networks. Faced by the challenges of daily survival, the lure of the quick rewards offered by drugs and crime, ranging from petty crime to sophisticated and organised crime, prove more attractive. If development strategies do not take cognisance of these fundamental truths, sustainable development will not be a reality.

The overall objective of the Conference is therefore to develop an international framework for involving youth across the world to be active partners in community safety and crime prevention within the context of sustainable development. In order to achieve this, the conference will address the specific objectives below:

a) Review and assess the role of youth in proactively driving community safety strategies to positively influence the larger social context of crime;
b) Formulate a multi-agency platform for policy review and policy dialogue in relation to youth education and training;
c) Develop modalities based on Best Practice that will empower youth to take control of their livelihood and destiny

The Summit will discuss approaches related to youth participation in strategies for crime and violence prevention, with a specific emphasis on how to augment law enforcement efforts by communities themselves and linking working towards the development of a seamless crime prevention effort. The conference will focus on:

a) Youth empowerment programmes in national and regional spheres;
b) Formulation of policies for youth;
c) Civic education of youth on their role in society and development programmes;
d) Skills education schools;
e) Decentralization of resources;
f) Strengthening the enforcement of children & youth protocols in Africa;
g) Strategies for coping mechanisms for youth in conflict situations;
h) Adaptation of training and education to coincide with the realities youth face on the ground especially in terms of life skills and employment.

Transversal matters for discussion at the Summit will be:

a) Youth as victims and perpetrators of crime;
b) Trends and causes of youth crime and violence;
c) Moral Regeneration;
d) Review of Education systems;
e) Youth in conflict-ridden countries and post-conflict societies;
f) Gender-based violence;
g) Best Practice Models.

By harnessing the energy and creativity of young people from across the globe, this crucial event will no doubt have a significant impact towards making our world a safer place.

http://www.yourcitysummit.com/index.html