Considering the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, following the recommendations of the WHO and in agreement with its partners (especially those directly responsible for hosting the universities), we regret to inform that the UYD and the MedUni have been cancelled for the year 2020.
Nevertheless, the North-South Centre is exploring different scenarios to keep working on youth cooperation and participation despite challenging times, notwithstanding that holding the Universities online would not appear appropriate: what makes their richness are the face-to-face intercultural encounters, the effectiveness of the non-formal education methodology, the mutual understanding flourishing from experiential learning, the networking opportunities taking place during informal moments, and cannot be replaced by any digital initiative or online tool.
We are currently working with the Network on youth and global citizenship (a platform where many youth-related institutions and youth-led umbrella organisations converge) to develop different initiatives to take place in 2020 and updates will follow shortly.
One initiative already in place is the #solidaction campaign.
We are aware that many organisations were already counting to bring their activities to the MedUni or to the UYD this year. We intend to connect soon with all of them individually to discuss possible alternative plans, while remaining available to explore with all our current and past partners meaningful ways to sustain each other’s work.
Even without Universities, the North-South Centre remains a space for cooperation and networking, fostering an inter-regional and human-rights based approach to youth work. Together, in partnership, we keep the youth sector strong, reacting to this new crisis with dynamism and solidarity.