Media Center

Press Release

OAS and EVAC Sign Agreement to Empower Youth of the Americas

The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Mexican NGO Espacio de Vinculación, Asociación Civil (EVAC) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of stimulating the cooperation of public and private sectors on the continent with civil society and particularly with young people.

"They say young people are the great wealth of the Americas. In Latin America and the Caribbean we have over a hundred million young people between 15 and 25. If we do not give them something to do, if we do not encourage them and give them hope to live, they will not likely be able to give everything they could deliver in better conditions. That's why we are here, and hopefully we can do it together," said the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, following the signing of the Memorandum.

The chief representative of the OAS said the agreement seeks to "generate and promote meetings between the key groups in society and the youth of the Americas" and try to "promote the effective involvement of the youth of the Americas at the highest levels of public and private institutions and civil society."

For his part, Emilio Azcarraga Jean, President of the Council of EVAC and Grupo Televisa highlighted the progress represented by the signing of the agreement and announced that "we will continue working through EVAC to keep this channel open" with the OAS and other multilateral agencies.

"It is clear that it is in the hands of all of us, and of you the young people, to make the Americas a region infinitely better than what we have," said the head of EVAC.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS, Joel Antonio Hernandez, said, "we have to think outside the box so that the founding principles" of the OAS "stay pertinent." "One way to think outside the box is to create synergies between youth and governments," the diplomat added, referring to the main purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding.

The agreement, signed at the headquarters of the Hemispheric Organization Washington, DC, also seeks to "disseminate, coordinate, and share information, best practices and youth initiatives, particularly through social networks and new information and communication technologies (ICTs)." Similarly, the agreement set forth dthat it will seek to create "opportunities for the training and exchange of experiences between young people, in order to enhance their integration and strengthen their ability to form alliances and cooperate on initiatives of common interest."

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

A video of the event is availeable here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-158/12