Navigating International Meetings - A Pocketbook Guide to Effective Youth Participation -

We heard from members of the international youth community that young people would benefit from a youth-friendly guide on how to be more effective at an international meeting. In response, a team of young Canadians drew on their collective experience from participating in the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, and consulted with youth around the world to create Navigating International Meetings:A Pocketbook Guide to EffectiveYouth Participation. This Pocketbook gives concise information about the structure and process of United Nations (UN) meetings, looks at the different avenues available to youth for participating, and offers practical information for surviving an IM. The Guide also touches on important questions regarding the impact of IMs on the local, national, and international level that every past and potential participant should consider. Because so many international meetings assemble under the auspices of the UN, much of the information in this book was written with direct reference to the process of a UN meeting. The UN, however, is not the only international decision-making body. If you are planning to attend an international meeting that is not being organized by the UN, you will still find most of the information useful since much of the preparation, on-site activity, follow-up, and travel follows a similar course. Lately we have also seen an increase in the number of meetings planned exclusively for youth that are global in scope.While the organization and substance of such meetings may be quite different, we hope that the more general information found in this guide will be of use.