United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and EF Education First (EF) Announce Their Second "Youth for Change" UNAOC-EF Summer School in NY

NEW YORK, February 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Application now open

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and EF Education First (EF) will co-organize their UNAOC-EF Summer School for the second consecutive year. This summer, 75 youth leaders from all over the world will be invited to engage in dialogue across borders, build critical skills for global citizenship and strengthen the ability to achieve lasting positive social change. The UNAOC-EF Summer School 2014 takes place at EF's New York campus in Tarrytown, NY, USA from 16 to 23 of August 2014.

The UNAOC-EF Summer School provides an opportunity to explore critical global issues and collaborate to develop solutions to these problems.  The UN High Representative for UNAOC, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser says: "The Alliance established the Summer School, based on the principle that people share more commonalities than differences. When given the opportunity, youth will explore those common interests and stimulate ideas that address these pressing issues in an equitable and sustainable manner," adding: "UNAOC is looking forward to once again partner with EF to ensure the success of the Summer School."

"The central objective of the Summer School is to encourage intercultural dialogue and create a common understanding between youth of different nationalities and religions," says Eva Kockum, President, EF Education First. "We are proud to once again work with UNAOC to bring this dialogue to life and break down barriers of language and culture that divide us."

Registration (http://www.UNAOCEFSummerSchool.org) is open to youth aged 18 to 35 until 22 April 2014. The application process includes the submission of a resume as well as essay questions on past achievements and future impact potential. The selected participants will be notified in May 2014. Last year more than 100,000 youth expressed their interest to take part in the week-long discussions and dialogues at the Summer School.

About the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Formed in 2005 by former Secretary General Kofi Annan, the UNAOC's primary mission is to improve cross-cultural understanding and cooperation among countries, peoples and communities. We live together in an interconnected world, in which globalization goes side by side with a search for often narrow-based identities. How can extremism, polarization and divisions be best resisted? This is part of the global conversation to which the UNAOC contributes. Learn more about the UNAOC at http://www.unaoc.org.  

About EF Education First

Established in 1965 with the mission to break down barriers in language, culture, and geography, EF Education First (EF) is the world's leading international education company. EF (http://www.ef.com) has helped millions of students learn a new language and travel abroad. With a network of 500 schools and offices worldwide, EF specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degrees, and cultural exchange programs. EF has published the English Proficiency Index (http://www.ef.com/epi) measuring the English ability of adults in countries across the world.