“Wars originate from the spirit of men, it is in the spirit of men that we must raise the defenses of peace …“

(Preamble of the UNESCO Constitution)

The Italian Youth Association for UNESCO,

CONSTITUTED in 2015, under the auspices of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO,

It is COMPOSED by young people, who equally represent all Italian regions, lending their voluntary activity to the service of culture, science, education and communication and information in our country.

In compliance with the UNESCO Constitutive Act and the UNESCO Conventions, Declarations, Recommendations and Programs, the Youth Committee RECOGNIZES the importance of the values of:

• Sensibilisation and participation of civil society, with particular regard to the active involvement of young generations, implementing actions that promote the dissemination of the principles and values underlying UNESCO;
• Cultural Heritage, material and immaterial, Landscape and Natural in forming the identities of communities, groups and individuals and in uniting past, present and future generations;
• Education, as a continuous process of improvement of knowledge and skills; opportunities that everyone should have, in order to understand, benefit and participate actively in the knowledge society;
• Science, as a set of knowledge obtained through research activities with the aim of understanding the human, social, economic and physical dynamics of the world in which we live;
• Communication, as free circulation of ideas and universal access to information, expression of pluralism and cultural diversity; as a means of exchange and sharing, useful in transforming economies, societies and cultures;
• Responsibility of the Present Generations towards the Future ones, so that the needs, the freedoms, the rights and the interests of the latter are protected, in the respect of the environment, of the cultural heritage, of the human rights and of the fundamental liberties;
• International, National and Local Cooperation, as an essential factor for the construction of peace, freedom and justice, for the protection, promotion and transmission of Heritage, and for the achievement of a sustainable cultural, social, scientific, economic and technological development;
• Diversity, as a source of exchange and spiritual, intellectual, affective and material enrichment of the human race and of development;
• Awareness, as a process that opens up opportunities for the exchange of information and knowledge, which can improve mutual understanding and develop the skills necessary to allow social and behavioral changes.

Given the importance of the principles expressed, the Committee IS COMMITTED:

• to make available to the community and to national and international institutions their professionalism and commitment to the dissemination of UNESCO values and to support the founding principles of our system and contemporary civil society;
• to stimulate the sensibilisation and awareness of the young generations of the importance of culture, science, education, communication and information in all their forms and manifestations, collaborating, supporting and creating initiatives in line with the UNESCO objectives;
• to collaborate in the creation of pilot projects that give new impetus to UNESCO values;
• to translate the needs and aspirations of the new generations into concrete actions and projects, trying to guarantee the active participation of young people in initiatives and events related to the cultural, scientific, educational and communication and information, of international, national and regional importance;
• to create networks and stimulate the interest of the population, especially the younger age groups, on UNESCO topics, in order to foster the exchange of ideas, experiences and good practices, guaranteeing a diversified, secular and non-party perspective.

Therefore, the Youth Committee of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO undertakes to disseminate this document and to support the implementation of the principles contained therein. Shared by all territorial representations.

The President