The International Youth Crime Prevention and Cities Summit came to a close in Durban, South Africa with recommendations on how best to tackle the issue of safety in urban areas. The 600 or so delegates from across the globe in unison agreed that it was time to make the cities safer and also to give the young people more opportunities so as to invest in brighter futures. The Summit was organized taking into cognizance the fact that the international community accepts that youth have a critical role to play in designing safer communities and well designed responses must include proactive strategies that address crime and violence. Poverty, unemployment and instability are inextricably linked to crime and violence. It was the culmination of a series of regional forums held since June 2002 that has resulted in the development of regional strategies on urban youth crime and violence in Africa and Latin America. In addition, it is a build-up to the development of global partnerships with youth organizations participating in the 2nd and 3rd World Urban Forums held in Barcelona in 2004 and Vancouver in 2006. IYCPCS also consolidated the gains made so far and came up with protocols which will guide issues of youth and crime. |
