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Declaration of the Intercultural Forum on Democratic Citizenship and Culture of Peace
an article by Antonio Palazuelos Prieto
Here is the S. Vicente Declaration, "Youth as
promoters of intercultural understanding" based on
the recommendations of the First Intercultural Forum on
Democratic Citizenship and Culture of Peace,
organized by the Cape Verdean Youth Federation, in
partnership with UNESCO and UNOY, and with the
support of the Government of Cape Verde ,
theNational Commission for UNESCO, the United
Nations in Cape Verde, the Youth Forum of CPLP and
ADYNE. The Declaration will be presented by His
Excellency the President of the Republic of Cape
Verde during the celebrations of the Fiftieth
Anniversary of the Organization of African Unity /
African Union, on May 25 in the city of Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.
 Forum participants
click on photo to enlarge
Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the United Nations Declaration and Programme of Action
on a Culture of Peace, in
the spirit of the Decade for a Culture of Peace
and Non-violence and within the principles of the African
Youth Charter and the African Decade of Youth,
over a hundred young people from Africa, Europe,
America and Asia, in the framework of the Fifth African
University of Youth and Development, participated
in the Intercultural Forum for Democratic
Citizenship and Culture of Peace from 6 to 7 May
2013 in Cape Verde, and wrote this Statement of S.
Vicente.
As a follow up to the Pan African Forum for a
Culture of Peace in Luanda, in the context of
the celebrations of the Fiftieth Anniversary of
the Organization of African Unity / African Union,
and in order to discuss democratic citizenship and
Culture of Peace and Non-Violence as key issues
for the sustainable development of society, the
participants focused on strengthening
intercultural understanding through the promotion
of democratic citizenship initiatives and culture
of peace in order to achieve a more tolerant and
global intercultural society.
The young people gathered here, considering the
Culture of Peace and Non-violence as a necessity for
the development of people in dignity and as an
innate quality of youth, conclude and recommend the
following:
* Eliminate all forms of violence of any nature
against people
* Ensure fundamental freedoms and access to
basic rights of the population
* Advocate dialogue and diplomacy to resolve
conflicts
* Refer to youth in decision-making, as they
constitute the transforming power of society to
achieve social peace
* Strengthen efforts to eradicate illiteracy,
as a necessary condition for a dignified life in
freedom and peace
* Include a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence
in educational curriculum
* Promote and enhance the national culture
and values of traditional African mediation and
advocacy of peace, as models to ensure a Culture
of Peace
Taking into account that today's society, marked
by miscegenation and the diversity of cultures,
needs the driving force of Youth to ensure
intercultural understanding and social inclusion,
that an intercultural society represents the best
model for human development and for social
integration of African people to ensure the
progress of the continent, the young people
highlight and recommend the following:
* Encourage respect for diversity and
dialogue between cultures and civilizations
* Promote opportunities for exchanging practices and
experiences between different cultures
that coexist in a community
* Implement policies that encourage social
integration
* Allow youth to mediate in intercultural and
social conflicts
* Boost activities to promote the acquisition
of knowledge about other cultures and peoples
* Ensure fairness and equal opportunities,
rights and duties of all people who live in a
community, whatever their origin, ethnicity,
religion or sexual orientation
* Facilitate the participation of minorities
in decision making and democratic processes, on an
equal footing with the majority groups
* Ensure an inclusive educational system
for children to get used to intercultural and cooperative coexistence
Click here for the original Portuguese version of this article.
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Finally, we declare that democratic citizenship, based in the civic participation and the respect for the
human rights, contributes to the development of
society, ensuring social peace and we recommend
the following:
* Support volunteer work for the betterment of society
* Empower youth so they can contribute to democratic processes
* Protect diversity of opinions and
ideologies to assure a real and inclusive democracy for all people
* Promote active participation in democracy, especially among youth
* Respect the Constitution and democratic legislation in each country
* Advocate the inclusion of civic education in the school system during all phases of education, to strengthen the democratic culture of the countries
* Encourage good democratic practices, transparency in decision making and good governance
* Stimulate formal and informal networks to exchange information, dialogue and democratic participation
* Use Information and Communication
Technologies to promote democratic participation and access to decision-making processes, including
e-government and e-democracy
The young people gathered on the island of S. Vicente at the Intercultural Forum on Democratic
Citizenship Culture of Peace highlight that the Culture of Peace and Democratic Citizenship are the flag of AFRICAN YOUTH and the key to establishing lasting peace and sustainable
development on the continent. They also declare
the importance of mainstreaming youth in all
policies to encourage greater involvement and
participation in decision-making. Therefore, they
advocate the establishment of an entity
specialized in development and youth empowerment, under the patronage of the African Union Commission,
that serves to catalyze the contributions of young
people for the continent's development, support
governments in the elaboration and implementation of youth public policies, promote global education, trainings and exchanges
between young people from different African
countries, and conduct research on the issues
that affect youth through the establishment of the
African Observatory of Youth.
Declared in S. Vicente, May 7, 2013
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