The Youth Council will assist and advise the Government Plenipotentiary for the preparation of the World Urban Forum in Katowice in 2022. Young people will, among other things, give their opinion on the organisers' proposals, but they will also carry out their own actions concerning, for example, promotion or the programme of the Forum.

The WUF is above all about the future of cities, and the future is teamwork. A discussion without young people on how to respond to the challenges facing cities would be like writing a book in a drawer. We involve in our work those who are most affected by the future

- explains Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, government plenipotentiary for WUF11.

The Youth Council is to ultimately have 20 members. They will be selected in an open recruitment that started on 1 September and will last until 15 September. Members of the WUF11 Youth Council are aged between 13 and 30.

At the moment, the WUF11 Youth Council formally has one member - the chairperson Katarzyna Smętek, who actively works to make the voice of young people heard in politics. Katarzyna Smętek has participated in numerous UN climate conferences, co-organised the UN Youth Climate Summit, and is now working to engage youth in the World Urban Forum.

We invite everyone who wants to implement their ambitious ideas, gain new experience, make international friends, and all this while co-organising the biggest conference on cities in the world to join us! If you want young people to be heard and their voice taken into account, apply to the Youth Council and have a direct influence on it

- encourages Katarzyna Smętek.

The recruitment process runs from 1 to 15 September 2021. In order to participate, you must send your application to karolina.thel@mfipr.gov.pl between 1 September and 15 September 2021 (23:59 Polish time)

The application should include:

• CV of the participant,
• a declaration of no criminal record and good repute,
• cover letter,
• a declaration of commitment to the work of the Council until the end of its term,
• acceptance of the regulations,
• consent to processing of personal data,
• parents' consent to participate in the recruitment in the case of under-age participants.

The Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy will inform participants by e-mail about the results no later than 30 September 2021.

Detailed information on recruitment can be found in the recruitment regulations, which can be found in the downloadable materials at the end of this article. Sample statements and consents are also included in the materials. 

WUF11 will be held in Katowice on 26-30 June 2022. It is one of the largest UN events in terms of number of participants. It usually brings together several thousand people from all over the world to discuss how to address the challenges facing cities.

The event is organised by: UN Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme), the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy and the City of Katowice.

The event was launched in 2002 and takes place every two years. Subsequent editions were held in Nairobi, Barcelona, Vancouver, Nanjing, Rio de Janeiro, Naples, Medellin, Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi.

The slogan of the Polish - the first in Central and Eastern Europe - edition of the WUF is: "Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future".

Stay up to date with information about WUF11. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://wuf.unhabitat.org/