Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council Partners with Friendship Ambassadors Foundation and United Nations Member Countries to Support 4th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations International Youth Day to be Recognized by Launching Hip-Hop Millennium Development Goals Campaign with Celebrities Worldwide
Announcements of Hip-Hop 4 Peace CD & Documentary, Hip-Hop Economic Empowerment Program and the Heal the Hood Campaign
NEW YORK − The Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, the United Nations; Dr. Elaine Valdov; Secretary General of the United Nations Youth Assembly; and the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council (hhsyc.org), in association with the following sponsoring countries: Bosnia, Herzegovina, Hungary, Lichtenstein, Republic of Argentina, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain will hold its 4th Annual Youth Assembly and Leadership Seminar, August 8-18, 2007 at the United Nations in New York City. Youth leaders from the 192 United Nation member countries have been invited to attend several events, including the August 12th recognition and celebration of \"International Youth Day.\"
Participants will also work on initiatives to address the United Nations 8 Millennium Development Goals, which are to: 1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2) Achieve universal primary education; 3) Promote gender equality and empower women; 4) Promote youth empowerment and activism; 5) Reduce child mortality and improve maternal health; 6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7) Ensure environmental sustainability; and to 8) Develop a global partnership for development.
During the 10-day period more than 500 young adults will take part in a series of Leadership Training Events designed to prepare them for leadership roles. This year\'s Youth Assembly theme is \"Young People Making a Difference.\" The goals of the Youth Assembly are to: 1) Provide access to and information about the work, successes and current challenges of the United Nations; 2) Promote increased youth participation in United Nations programs, its agencies and Non-Governmental Organization affiliates; 3) Strengthen commitment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; 4) Connect committed youth with opportunities, mentors, colleagues, and new associates; 5) Recognize the artistic and diplomatic efforts of young people already in humanitarian initiatives; and to 6) Promote renewal of a commitment to serve and respect this most important international institution.
In addition, the youth will learn how to use the positive influence of the Hip-Hop Culture to improve social, political and economic conditions in their schools, homes and communities. Social entrepreneurship entails connecting the best and brightest leaders with opportunities for service, jobs, and careers in fulfillment of the United Nations 8 Millennium Development Goals. The Youth Assembly will also increase awareness about United Nations resolution 53/25, which proclaims 2001-2010 as the \"International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World.\"
This annual event is a unique opportunity for delegates and employees to network and develop Non-Governmental Organization and International Inter-Governmental Organization based career opportunities. It will enable member states, Non-Governmental Organizations, International Inter-Governmental Organizations, Speakers and other Workshop Leaders to endorse the activities of global youth in support of the 8 Millennium Development Goals, the centerpiece of the United Nations initiatives. It will also recognize the good deeds and contributions of individuals, corporations, sponsors and other stakeholders. And it will encourage social entrepreneurship that helps build a better world for all; and developing opportunities for youth leaders to become immersed in important contemporary issues championed by the United Nations and its many affiliates, so that they may find campaigns to join.
\"We are excited to partner with the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, the United Nations, and Dr. Elaine Valdove to launch the Hip-Hop Millennium Development Goals campaign in recognition of International Youth Day. The campaign\'s mission is to use the power of the Hip-Hop industry to bring awareness to the world about the Millennium Development Goals and the \"International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World\". By working with the Youth Assembly, the United Nations and DJ Pharriss\'s \"Heal the Hood\" campaign, we will establish Youth Council Chapters in 192 countries to help the UN meet its Millennium Development Goals\" says Charles Fisher, Founder and Chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council (HHSYC).
HHSYC executive director, Randy Fisher adds \"We believe that poverty and the lack of a quality education are the root causes for most of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Through our Hip-Hop 4 Peace project and Hip-Hop Economic Empowerment Program (H.E.E.P.) we will be able to use Hip Hop as a vehicle to provide young people with the skills, experience and resources to be productive leaders for global change. With the future of this planet in the hands of a wiser generation, I know the world will be a safer and better place to live.\"
\"Helping our youth today to become the leaders of tomorrow is what this Assembly is all about. Using the positive influence of Hip-Hop will allow us to better prepare these students to address the Millennium Development Goals, recognize International Youth Day and expand our program to empower youth. Working with the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council will give us the additional resources to help build a world of peace and justice for all,\" states Patrick Sciarratta, Executive Director, Friendship Ambassadors Foundation.
\"I have dedicated my life to working with young people showing them that one person can make a difference. The United Nations is a perfect platform for students of all nations to unite, create new ideas to better understand each other, develop an appreciation for diversity and address the Millennium Development Goals. Partnering with the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council and their celebrity associates will enhance the value of the Youth Assembly and provide more opportunities for our future world leaders\" ended Dr. Elaine Valdov, Secretary General, United Nations Youth Assembly.
Your support is important. In order to improve the conditions on this planet, we must start with our children. This event gives all of us a huge opportunity to implement solid ideas that will truly make a difference.
For Additional Information: Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council, Inc. 212-353-5084 x 225 / www.faf.org/programs/unyouthassembly2007/ya_home.htm or www.hhsyc.org For Press Information Contact: S&S Associates 908-221-1660 Tonya Payton - tonya@ssassocs.com or Ann Brown - ann@ssassocs.com ###
About the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council: The HIP-HOP SUMMIT YOUTH COUNCIL (HHSYC) was founded in 2001 by its Chairman, music industry veteran, community activist and author Charles Fisher. It is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 tax exempt organization located in New York, New York. The HHSYC has positioned itself as an effective voice for youth on a host of issues that confront them daily. Our goal is to \"change the game\" by improving the image and unity within the multi-billion dollar Hip-Hop industry and use its positive influence for the empowerment of youths and young adults. The mission of the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council is to work as an advocacy group to protect the rights, interests and future of our youths and young adults while addressing a host of issues that confront them daily. By partnering with schools, the entertainment industry, private and government agencies we have created a unique network that provides the resources to help young people fulfill their social and academic goals. Through the use of Hip-Hop we have bridged the communication gap between our youths and adults and have earned the trust and respect of both.
About the United Nations Youth Assembly: The vision of the Assembly, as created in 2003, by founders Dr. Elaine Valdov, Secretary General of the Assembly and Patrick Sciarratta (Executive Director of the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation) is to create substantive opportunities for increased youth involvement at and surrounding UN activities, commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, personal career development with an eye toward professions in civil society, and by extension the promotion of democratic values, international partnership and a renewal of commitment to the United Nations and human security. For the past three years, we have established a relationship with Right to Play directed by Norwegian three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in speed skating and UN Goodwill Ambassador, Johann Olav Koss; Arun Gandhi; and members of the Secretariat and affiliated NGO community who form the programming core.
About the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation: Founded by Fulbright Scholar Harry Morgan and well-respected travel professional Cappy Devlin, Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, Inc. (FAF) has facilitated international travel and exchange programs as an independent foundation since 1973--and for more than 15 years prior to that as an informal program supported in large part by Lila and DeWitt Wallace (founders, Readers Digest). Since its inception, FAF has cultivated international affiliations and representation in order to fulfill its mission: Promote Peace through Cultural Exchange. The FAF is a non-profit organization that provides meaningful group travel opportunities and concert performance tours promoting peace. Using the arts for peace, dance, music, choral (choir), and other performing and academic groups receive real interaction during their travels, both on the performance tours and special projects like our annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations, reconciliation and relief programs, and other special group travel opportunities. The arts-based healing program Finding New Hope, United Nations related travel, and fiscal agency services assisting emerging nonprofit travel and peace organizations that share FAF\'s goals augment the main bulk of our work: nonprofit, customized group travel, concert tours and cultural exchange worldwide. FAF does not charge a fee for such services and a portion of each tour is fully tax deductible as allowed by law to each participant or their family. Patrick Sciarratta is the Executive Director.
About the United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. The United Nations was founded in 1945 to replace the League of Nations, in the hope that it would intervene in conflicts between nations and thereby avoid war. The organization began with fifty countries signing the United Nations Charter. The organization\'s structure still reflects in some ways the circumstances of its founding. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, each of which has veto power on any UN resolution, are the main victors of World War II or their successor states: the People\'s Republic of China (which replaced the Republic of China); the French Republic; the Russian Federation (which replaced the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics); the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and the United States of America.
As of 2007, there are 192 United Nations member states, encompassing almost every recognized independent state. From its headquarters in New York City, the United Nations and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout each year. The organization is divided into administrative bodies, including the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Additional bodies deal with the governance of all other United Nations agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children\'s Fund (UNICEF). The United Nation\'s most visible public figure is the Secretary-General. The current Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who assumed the post on January 1, 2007.
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