About the Festival

What’s it all about?

In 2006 for the first time the city of Stuttgart served as host city to the UNESCO World Youth Festival. On that occasion and coinciding with the FIFA World Cup over 2,000 young people from around the world gathered in Stuttgart. The main focus and overall goal of the festival was to get to know each other and to forge new links of friendship. As a result of the festival, the aim of UNESCO “to tie a ribbon of friendship around the globe” has been turned into reality with great dedication as to this day the dialogue has been pursued especially via the internet platform Mondialogo.

Anxious to continue with the positive results of the UNESCO World Youth Festival 2006, some 500 young people are being invited to participate in the UNESCO World Youth Festival 2009 scheduled from 13 – 19 July. Once again in 2009, UNESCO is supporting the festival. One of the concerns of UNESCO which is to promote goodwill among peoples to secure peace and security has also become the motto of the UNESCO World Youth Festival 2009 in Stuttgart.

The participants of the UNESCO World Youth Festival 2009 will be selected on the basis of UNESCO project schools worldwide, Stuttgart’s twin cities, consulates, companies, partnerships of Stuttgart’s schools, personal contacts of local hosts as well as relationships which developed back in 2006.

Aims of the Festival

The UNESCO World Youth Festival 2009 is being organised and run by the City of Stuttgart in close cooperation with the Stuttgarter Jugendhaus gGmbH. The Stuttgart Sports Office is in charge of coordinating the event. The Festival 2009 stands for:

  • promoting international understanding and hospitality
  • promoting the intercultural dialogue
  • learning with and from one another
  • encouraging young people to form personal contacts
  • overcoming prejudices
  • spanning links of friendships and networks around the globe
  • highlighting global contexts
  • setting an example in the areas of climate and energy, addressing themes and
  • encouraging people to ponder these issues

Temporary programme

To implement these aims, young people will have outstanding opportunities, during this week of exchange, to meet for an intercultural dialogue and to form friendships spanning the globe. A wide range of events, workshops and activities relating to art, music, sport and science, are intended to give a concrete shape to this vision.

Congress on Climate

A main focus of the UNESCO World Youth Festival 2009 will be a congress on climate issues on 14—15 July, which will be dedicated to the theme of „Climate protection and energy for your future“. Together with the young people this vitally important issue will be addressed in workshops, lectures, round tables and presentations. The aim is to raise the participants’ energy consciousness.