AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUR YOUTHFORPT MESSAGE AT THE UNESCO YOUTH FORUM 2009!

It is a pleasure to invite you to participate in the online dialogue on the 6th UNESCO Youth Forum (Paris, 1 - 3 October, 2009). The Forum is an integral part of UNESCO’s General Conference, the organization’s highest decision making body, which gathers experts and heads of state from all over the world. The online dialogue of the 6th UNESCO Youth Forum is an interactive consultation process which looks to integrate the views, concerns and suggestions of young people into UNESCO’s work, its action and its future initiatives. It will be moderated by UNESCO, and hosted by Taking it Global. The online discussions will constitute an important part of the review and follow-up processes of the 6th UNESCO Youth Forum. Therefore, your contributions are considered an integral part of UNESCO’s actions to follow up on its 6th Youth Forum, and, as such, all participants will be collaborating in UNESCO’s work with, by and for young people. We look forward to hearing from you, as individuals, as well as from the organizations you may work with. Join the dialogue now ! To participate in English: http://projects.tigweb.org/UNESCO-6thYF/discuss/10141 To participate in French: http://projects.tigweb.org/UNESCO-6iemeDL/discuss/10145

WE ARE IN RUSSIA!!

THE UITP YOUTH PARLIAMENT PRESENTATION IN RUSSIA. Thanks to a special russian journalist, Mrs. Elena Tarasova, that was in Vienna at our Worldwide Congress,last June 2009, the "Youth of the World Parliament's Report " reach our Members in Russia! Thanks Elena!

LATEST NEWS FROM MY MEETING AT THE EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM

Dear all, Yesterday I participated to the Open Doors at the European Youth Forum What is the European Youth Forum? Independently established by youth organisations, the European Youth Forum is made up of more than 90 National Youth Councils and International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations, which are federations of youth organisations in themselves. It brings together tens of millions of young people from all over Europe, organised in order to represent their common interests. We, at UITP, we are in the process of being partner with them to promote our Youth Project! "A Call for a Strong Youth Agenda" has been the theme of this year YFJ's Open Doors. Special guests included EU Commissioner Jan Figel' and YFJ President Tine Radinja. I had the chance to meet Pierre Mairesse, Director in charge of the Youth, at DG Education and Culture and I will present our project to him in the near future. I also encountered many Youth Organizations, like, for example, the youth press organization (www.youthpress.org ) and the European Youth Press with their magazine Orange. For sure some future ways to get more connected and spread our news on YOUTH AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT In Europe!

TODAY OPEN DAY AT THE EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM!

Hi everyone! Today I will attend the Open doors event at European Youth Forum to advocacy our UITP Youth Project! The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is an independent, democratic, youth-led platform, representing 99 National Youth Councils and International Youth Organisations from across Europe. The YFJ works to empower young people to participate actively in society to improve their own lives, by representing and advocating their needs and interests and those of their organisations towards the European Institutions, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. 999 is TODAY! Join us for YFJ Open Doors: "A Call for a Strong Youth Agenda" The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is holding today its annual Open Doors! On 09.09.09, we are calling for a Strong Youth Agenda. Together with Commissioner Jan Figel, YFJ President Tine Radinja will discuss the priorities for youth for the coming years. Our Youth Agenda is on the table! YFJ Member Organisations will be present to showcase their activities. And a free concert co-organised together with Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) is going to take place in Maelbeek Park (just in front of YFJ Office) starting from 20h00, featuring youth bands from Belgium.

ADVOCACY

International relations Half of the world population today is under the age of 25. This include the largest-ever generation of adolescents who are approaching adulthood in a rapidly changing world. And the number and proportion of urban young people is increasing dramatically. For this and other reason, One of the issues of the youth project is the collaboration and cooperation with international organizations worldwide and NGO’s. This part of the project is permitting us to show what UITP ‘s does internationally, and invite them to participate at our activities. - Collaborations with Unesco, Youth Forums in Latin America and Canada and Europe. - Contacts with the David De Rotschild Foundation and Peace Child International - A brochure created in collaboration with Unesco, presenting all over the world our “Youth Project” to give visibility to UITP - Possible participations and joint initiatives among our Members, to promote internationally young manager’s exchanges. Events and Results obtained till now: Unesco – participation at the first Worldwide Youth Forum, Paris October 2007 (future participation to the second worldwide youth forum in Paris October 2009) Result: will of Unesco to sign a Memorandum Of Understanding with UITP and creation of joint events) ******************************************************************* Vanguardia Latina – Interdevelopment Bank – participation at the Youth Forum and Summit , Washington, March 2008 Result: UITP is invited to be present at their main activity, next one in Madrid in 2009) ******************************************************************* Peace Child International, Unesco – Youth Forum at Quebec City, August 2008 Result: Unesco workshop and presentation on UITP’s Youth activities, distribution of UITP Youth Project brochure to more than participants . Peace Child will host us at their next Forum. CUTA Youth Summit 2008, Vancouver, presentation of the UITP Youth Project and UITP/Unesco commitment . Session of the Canadian Youth Parliament Result: Canadian future political and CUTA commitments, David De Rotschild Foundation interest, Dan Arjuna contact, APTA visibility. European Youth Forium, open day in Brussels, September 2009 *******************************************************************

YOUTHPROJECTAWARDS

More and more our Public Transport Members rely heavily on young users: they are large proportion of Public Transport users today. Our members are getting closer to their young customers and Companies are educating them, teaching them to respect and take responsibilities in the usage of PT facilities, offering cultural and artistic events, promoting safety and security, fighting vandalism. What is it? UITP has organized an international contest between PT-related initiatives in favor of young people, preferably realized in collaboration with young citizens, and presented to an international jury by a young professional of the operator, the industry or the authority. UITP members, participated to the contest with PT project: - built for young people / having young people as target; and - preferably conceived in collaboration with young citizens; and - combining public transport and values which are important for the youth, such as: social interaction, conviviality, freedom, speed, adventure, pleasure, innovations, etc; and - any project with a direct link to areas being in the core of young people’s lifestyles: culture, education, leisure, first jobs. - The targeted projects should contribute, directly or not, to a better mobility for all (including easy and affordable mobility for teenagers) but also to a better social integration and living together. These projects should help fighting road fatalities among young drivers and tomorrow’s congestion (young people are tomorrow’s commuters) but also exclusion, generation’s barriers and unemployment What has been the Awards’ process? - Regional awards: A first award procedure has been organized at a regional level. It means that the 7 UITP regional offices organized their own ‘youth project awards’ among their operators, industry members or local authorities. At the end of this first contest level, each region rewarded the three best ‘youth projects’ they received. To proceed, each region had a great autonomy, they decided which timing (in a given framework), which ‘awards events’, which jury, which promotion of the contest, etc. UITP Brussels provided the call for paper, the framework, the rules and the deadlines and supported the regional offices where and when needed. Each region has selected 3 best projects, which constituted the nominees list for the International Awards held during the Helsinki Congress. - International awards: The three best projects of each region participated to the international contest, results has been officially known during the Helsinki Congress. An international jury composed by members such as representatives of operators, industry and authorities, marketing experts, etc. rewarded the best international youth project. Best practice book: In order to give UITP members examples and ideas of what can be done for the youth in public transport, the best projects of each region has been compiled in a ‘best practice book’. The results of the first phase with the Youth Award: 35 Projects applied for the first UITP Youth Awards, coming from 5 continents. 15 Nominees for Regional Semi final 3 Winners 1 Special prize from the Industry And many members discovered the project during our international Congress closing ceremony in Helsinki, June 2007. Second Edition of UITP Youth Awards The second edition previewed the promotion of best practices in favor of young people as customers (inside and outside UITP and to rewards projects made or steered by young managers). Our Marketing Commission supported us and the event s were planned for mid 2008 and final Awards at our International Congress in Vienna 2009. The second edition of the Youth Project Awards want to reward these Companies and their project , but not only: with this second edition UITP has also rewarded the young forces working on PT, through the best young managers award. The edition has been a success: 40 projects were received at UITP this year, and 16 of them has been participating to the Final World Congress Selection. 3 have been the winners in Vienna, plus 3 awarded with Special Prizes. The first edition didn’t see any regional reward ceremony, while this year, we introduced it to give more weight to members and regional representatives: we had already three ceremony at the occasion of UITP events:, the regional European final, the Latin America regional final and the American one: the first in Milan, were 6 projects were rewarded by the UITP President ( from THE NETHERLANDS, GERMANY, FRANCE, DENMARK, ITALY), the second one in Guadalajara, with 4 projects rewarded by the President, and 2 of them participating to the final ( BRAZIL and URUGUAY on BOLIVIA and PERU), and the third in Canada, during the CUTA Assembly, where the Secretary General was personally consigning the prices to the winners; we planned a third semifinal in Taipei (were the projects rewarded have been Hong Kong , Seoul and Delhi). We couldn’t organize a regional final in Australia, as only one project was participating and selected; neither in Africa, as no UITP events were planned before Vienna, after the announcement of the prizes. The evolution, this year, has been visible through the number and the importance of the projects received: more complete and detailed, concrete, very actual, modern, and particularly more innovative. Actually, they are producing very visible results in terms of employment, safety and changing the behaviors of the youth and the image of PT. Through the Youth Awards we could and can see how many Companies are investing in Youth issues. WHAT IS OUR OBJECTIVE UITP want to enhance and emphasize what is worldwide existing in terms of PT and Youth, Creating: - a best practice brochure on-line, integrated with all the other issues of the project, so to be the first “ Public Transport and Youth Guide “ on the market. - activities to promote and permit exchanges between Awards participant’s Members, in order to create contacts and relations on the same subjects, to implement communication and knowledge. ( For example: HTM and METRO S.PAULO created, with a different approach depending from the region of the world they are based, a project to discover future talents; our objective, now , is the one to put in touch these members and develop their activity through UITP. ) UITP has been rewarded and recognized, by young managers winners from all over the world, as a major actor to promote changes in their professional lives, and by Companies, finally recognized for their value, efforts and activities in these directions.

YOUTHPARLIAMENTS

There are strong and mutual links between public transport and young users: Young people are heavily dependent on public transport, it is often their only way to reach school, working places, sport facilities and any other location where they live and build their future. And through their view, we can predict accurately how Public Transport organizations will develop. UITP Youth Parliament initiative recognize the distinctiveness of youth cultures and ideologies and advocates participatory decision maker’s processes for juvenile policies. The Parliament initiative aims to provide opportunities for their full participation in society, and plans to set in place long-term strategic instruments that improve youngster’s social opportunities. UITP reaches organized and unorganized youth through a series of activities that are generated from the first session of each Parliament, in order to create and improve spaces where ideas and experiences are shared, to favor youth creative potential and recognize its uniqueness. With energy, ambition and belief in their own capabilities, young people can be powerful agents of positive changes. Including young people in issues that directly affect them, contributes to their self-confidence and allow them to take better decisions. This inclusion can help prepare young people to exercise the rights and responsibilities of adulthood and citizenship. And help them too, to develop a sense of identity. Collaboration with adults who share some of their views fortifies their ideas and values. The experience of contributing, to a cause, a decision, a group, can be a crucial part to the development of a sense of responsibility, purpose and self-worth. And youth participation is also essential to the development of successful programming. Panels of young people have been invited to be delegates in the following countries from the 7 UITP Regions : Helsinki, Karlsruhe, Guadalajara, Johannesburg, Vancouver, Milan, Istanbul, Taipei and Vienna. They have presented their report in every Closing session of UITP activities. A report from every closing has been realized and will be available on the website www.youthforpt.org (under construction!)

NEWURBANISM

Enjoy this video! Is a source of inspiration.... it inspired the video created by the UITP Youth of the World Parliament in Vienna!!(coming soon on www.youthforpt.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGJt_YXIoJI

UITP YOUTH ENGAGEMENT – AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Active youth participation may require changes in the way adults perceive and deal with young people, as their capacities are often unrecognized or undervalued. At the same time, promoting youth participation and leadership needs to take into consideration age and maturity levels as well as relevant cultural, gender and economic factors. And this is what exactly does UITP, committing itself in different ways to promote youth participation as a key to successful programming, through - Involving young people in relevant aspects of programming - YOUTH PROJECT AWARDS - Sponsoring and promoting young people to participate in internships exchanges - INTERNSHIPS - Encouraging dialogue between governments and youth groups – YOUTH PARLIAMENT - Supporting youth initiative, and building their organizational, advocacy and programming capacities, providing opportunities for young people to voice their demands for education and other services - INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ADVOCACY

UITP YOUTH PROJECT WHY? Late childhood and adolescence are often those phases of life in which public transport have a greater impact. And how Public Transport is viewed and portrayed in those stages, is crucial in shaping values and behavioral patterns. Family members and peers have a large impact on young’s people mobility choices, with a large impact on their health, environment awareness, self realization and safety . That is why UITP has chosen them as a privileged audience, sustaining company members, promoting and spreading their campaigns. Public transport is youngsters’ first and only tool to discover the world and to gain independence and their first steps on public transport facilities often make them feel self-empowered. The role of PT in young people’s life is large, as it is the presence and trust of youth in public transport organization: that is why, again , UITP is largely concerned about its young users. Since the launch of “UITP Youth Project “ in 2005 and our worldwide Congress in 2007 in Helsinki, the emphasis on Youth participation, has gained ground and acceptance through our Members. It has moved from tokenism to actively involve them in activities and consequently decisions improving their own choices as Companies, in terms of youth. Subsequently, our activity has moved around our Regions, too. All our initiatives have made a difference in our Members worlds and are very well supported, through participation, organization of events and concrete proposals, and communication.