It’s a great pleasure to participate in this meeting and I thank the Permanent Missions of Uzbekistan and Indonesia for inviting UNAOC.
If you will allow me to take a different approach in my intervention by zeroing on UNAOC’s work on the ground that have had impact on the beneficiary communities, in the next few minutes, I will highlight good practices and success stories that UNAOC supported with the aim of making sustainable development an attainable reality, while we recognize that much more has to be accomplished in the next 5 years.
In contribution to the prevention agenda, under the Youth, Media and Education pillars, UNAOC has continuously supported and developed the capacities of young talented creators to develop media and digital content skills, recognizing those skills as a very important driver to job creation and innovation.
Last November, at the 10th UNAOC Global Forum in Cascais, Portugal, UNAOC and the IOM announced the 2024 recipients of their joint initiative, the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival. We recognized a total of 32 films from 21 countries based on their insightful and engaging exploration of themes related to migration, diversity and social inclusion. The films, created by young people, originated from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, the Russian Federation, Spain, Timor-Leste, Tanzania, the USA and Yemen.
The PLURAL+ International Jury recognized, inter alia: 1) the short film “Weirdies”, shot by second-grade students at Maestro Camilo Hernández Primary School (Spain), who celebrated the beauty of individuality and diversity, reminding audiences that embracing differences unites and strengthens.
Another recognition went to two young people from Kenya for their film “Include Me”, advocating for the inclusion of women in decision-making processes and highlighting challenges they face, such as poverty and lack of access to education and resources.
Since 2011, UNAOC and the BMW Group have partnered around the Intercultural Innovation Hub. Under the IIH, we empower grassroots organizations, enabling them to reach their full potential so that they can contribute to a more just, peaceful and inclusive society, and elevate social innovation by offering holistic and long-term support to those organizations.
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Source: UNAOC
