The present youth generation is confronted with unprecedented challenges brought about by health, educational, economic, environmental, and social crises. In the advent of various problems concerning unemployment, violence, pollution, poverty, corruption, illiteracy, war, terrorism, and even natural disasters; the youth of today take the center stage of global attention as the most vulnerable sector and the prime players of positive change and sustainable development.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres accentuated that young people are on the frontlines of the struggle to build a better future for all. Accordingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the dire need for this kind of transformational change the United Nations seeks – and young people must be full partners in that effort.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has not halted its diligent efforts to sustain the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. UNESCO has been pursuing sustainable development initiatives through grassroots actions involving the youth.

In the Philippines, the NCBCUP has been working with the Filipino youth as active players in pursuing advocacy-driven endeavors on the local, regional, national, and even international scale. As it celebrates its 14th founding anniversary as the biggest and largest network of Clubs for UNESCO in the country, NCBCUP sustains the annual gathering of youth advocates and young leaders through the International Assembly of Youth for UNESCO (Y4U) 2024 on November 29 - December 1 with the theme: “Empowering Communities through UNESCO Initiatives: Advancing Science and Technology, Culture, Creativity and Lifelong Learning.”

Y4U 2024 will certainly ignite the interests of youth leaders and youth advocates towards service by keeping them abreast with the current challenges in the global and local context and casting inspiration from the World Heritage Convention. They will also be engaged in policy developments through the convergence sessions to craft national action plans for the promotion, protection, and preservation of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Philippines. Finally, Y4U participants will also be empowered to strengthen camaraderie and collaboration with the rest of the Clubs for UNESCO through various academic and non-academic competitions such as National Debate Cup, Quiz Bowl, Spoken Word, Poster Making, and Essay Writing.

The conference will bring together 500 members of Clubs for UNESCO and potential Clubs for UNESCO in the country to attain the following objectives:

1. To be an avenue for youth mentoring, dialogue, and peer collaborations within the context of UNESCO’s mandate and the World Heritage Convention;

2. draft a key document that embodies the ideas and action plans of the general assembly and the participants which, when adopted, will be submitted to the National Commission for UNESCO and;

3. to strengthen the Clubs for UNESCO’s intrinsic mandate of being grassroots  change makers, empowering them to carry on the challenge of localizing efforts anchored on regional, national, and international declarations, with a focus on advancing science and technology, culture, creativity, and lifelong learning within communities

The International Assembly of Youth for UNESCO will be a face-to-face conference with the following features:

•  General Assembly of Accredited Clubs for UNESCO in the Country. As a yearly conference, the Y4U is the main avenue of the NCBCUP to provide an accomplishment and financial report to all accredited members. The Chairman, President, and Treasurer will provide a comprehensive report on the status of funds, annual accomplishments, and the direction of NCBCUP for the year.

• Awarding of Accreditation Certificates to the New Clubs for UNESCO. Organizations that wish to be part of NCBCUP, and to be one of the accredited Clubs for UNESCO will be awarded their certificate of accreditation after submitting and passing all the required documents.

• Awarding of Certificate of Good Standing to Accredited Clubs for UNESCO. The members of different clubs who have complied with the requirements such as submitting their annual report and attending the annual conference will receive their certificate of good standing.

• Plenary and Parallel Discussions. Invited speakers will engage with participants on the topics lined up during the conference. Parallel discussions will provide participants with an array of topics to choose from and listen to.

• Lifelong Learning Breakout Sessions. The breakout session will accommodate participants who wish to be part of a team to draft the key document for this year’s International Assembly of Youth for UNESCO and also the opportunity to present their best practices in implementing projects during the Lifelong Learning Sessions.

• Awarding of Outstanding UNESCO Clubs, Youth Leaders, and other awardees. A yearly award that recognizes the significant efforts of organizations and individuals in advancing the thrusts of UNESCO at the grassroots level. This year, NCBCUP will also give due recognition to the Outstanding Club for UNESCO, Educators, Youth, LGU Leaders, and Cultural Workers who made significant contributions to society.

• Academic and non-academic competitions. Participants are given the platform to showcase talents and skills through competitions such as quiz bowl, poster making, spoken word poetry, music & video making, etc.