12-14 June 2009, Paris/France

on the occasion of the Second Conference of Parties to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (15-18 June 2009, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France)

Call for Contribution and Participation

The U40-World Forum is the main part of the U40-Capacity Building Programme “Cultural Diversity 2030” (2008- 2010) initiated by the German Commission for UNESCO in 2007. As a pre-conference, the U40-World Forum will be held back-to-back with the Conference of Parties of the 2005-UNESCO Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression in June 2009.

The U40-process offers young people Under 40 – postgraduates, PhD students, young professionals, and similarly qualified experts – the opportunity to participate in the international debate on Cultural Diversity and the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression. Based on a Call for Contribution and Participation a core group of European participants for the programme strand 2008-2010 has been identified in summer 2008.

The U40-World Forum aims at including excellent professionals, future decision makers and communicators from all world regions. The German Commission for UNESCO and the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) are therefore seeking up to 40 young specialists from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Northern America and the Arabic Region with proven competence and interest in the area of relevant aspects of the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. They are invited to apply by submitting a short paper (max. 800 words) and a CV by latest 28 February 2009 to Ms Anna Steinkamp, steinkamp(a)unesco.de.

Working language: English, French, optional: Spanish (pending confirmation of funding)

Submission: by latest 28th February 2009 to Ms Anna Steinkamp, steinkamp@unesco.de, reference “U 40”.