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Talking with: Mr. Denis Huber
Executive-Director of the North-South Centre
The North-South Centre has a huge capital of people and knowledge right here at the University on Youth and Development. After celebrating the tenth anniversary, do you think that it is an initiative that should continue?
Yes of course! The fact that we already organized ten incarnations of the University of Youth and Development of Mollina, proves that it is a formula that works. We will continue to have this global university here in Mollina and we will also continue what has been done in recent years. We have similar universities organized on a regional level, in Latin-America and more recently in Africa. And I intend to continue this trend.
In a general way, whats the center’s vision in youth policy and matters?
We have been created (North-South Centre) in order to enforce awareness, especially among the European population, but not only the European population, of the fact that we are living in one world and the motto of the 20th anniversary is that it is one world,-our world. Our vision regarding youth policy is linked to that, and we have to invest in education and youth in order to shape that consciousness, because the youth are the major actors for such a change for conscious.
The University on Youth and Development here in Mollina has two sister universities, the African University on Youth and Development and University of Participation and Citizenship in Uruguay. Is there any proposal to organise another university or a similar event in any other region of the world?
For the moment we will concentrate our efforts to consolidate the newest university in Africa. We only had the first version in 2009. So we will organize the second incarnation again in Cape Verde, in the same country, this doesn’t mean it will always be in Cape Verde, -we will see how this university will develop. The priority is clearly to consolidate the newest sister. When you are a parent and you have a small baby you of course concentrate on taking care of this new baby. We have discussions even today, this morning, during the partnership meeting on the Mediterranean process between the European commission and the Council of Europe and I think it might be a good idea that the next “baby”(university) might be Mediterranean.
A short message for the participants of the tenth university?
I will say two things, the first message is the “motto” of the 20th anniversary: we have only one world and its our world and we have to take care of it. The second message was said by the French writer and philosopher Albert Camus: “this generation of young people has the highest challenge ever to face, it is not to change the world but to do what is necessary for the world not to falling into pieces”.