TWO Saint Lucians from the Dennery Valley Community have been selected to participate in the 19th World Festival for Youth and Students (WFYS) scheduled to take place in Sochi, Russia from October 14 to 22 under the motto, “For Peace, Solidarity and Social Justice, we struggle against Imperialism. Honouring our past, we build the future”.
Participants selected from Saint Lucia are KernishaFlavien (Head of Delegation) and Randall Theodule.
The two ambassadors will join over 90 delegates from the Caribbean region, namely Belize, Barbados, Dominica, St. Vincent, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and Jamaica.
The festival will attract over 20,000 young Ambassadors from around the world where they will have an opportunity for global dialogue through discussions which help to create a crucial space for young people to come together to exchange ideas and also a platform for collaborative change-making.
The Festival aims to consolidate international youth community, strengthen international ties, as well as promote international and intercultural cooperation. One of the main goals of the upcoming Festival is shaping a common vision of the future by the young leaders from different countries, trying to articulate responses to the most pressing challenges of the generation.
The main agenda of the discussion programme is to encompass the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations.
The programme of the WFYS 2017 involves various platforms, including panel discussions and open lectures on topical issues of youth policy and international relations, sports competitions, as well as a number of cultural and creative events.
Tentatively, key issues of the event will be Culture and Globalization, Global Economy, Knowledge Economy, Public Institutions, Development Politics and International Security.