World Urban Youth Assembly

The World Urban Youth Assembly is a platform for young people to debate matters of concern to them for consideration at the World Urban Forum. The idea is to ensure that the views of young people are taken into account. Held every two years, the Forum is an important event on the international calendar bringing together a wide range of participants from around the world to discuss key urban challenges facing the world today. The Youth Assembly is held three days prior to the main World Urban Forum. This format provides youth with the opportunity to discuss and debate issues important to them, particularly, so that they are able to make meaningful contributions to the larger forum. This format was adopted following a request by youth attending the Second session of the World Urban Forum in Barcelona, Spain, in 2004, that UN-HABITAT involves youth more meaningfully in the proceedings. Since then, the World Urban Youth Assembly has become the leading global platform for youth to deliberate on urban issues. At the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, youth requested the establishment of a special fund to support youth-led initiatives in pursuance of the Habitat Agenda and the Millennium Development Goals. The World Urban Youth Assembly was formerly called The World Urban Youth Forum. The Youth Forum outcome documents cover: 2006 - Vancouver, Canada (Full youth document) 2008 - Nanjing, China (mentioned within World Urban Forum report)) 2010 - Rio de Janerio, Brazil (2 page summary within World Urban Forum report) 2012 - Naples, Italy (Full youth document) 2014 - Medelliín, Colombia (Concept note for Youth Roundtable, and full World Urban Forum Report containing Youth Assembly summary)