IOM Director General William Lacy Swing will deliver a keynote
speech during the opening ceremony of the ninth edition of the
Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and
Exhibition (DIHAD) under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United
Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

The three-day event, which opens on 1 April, will bring together
global leaders and representatives from UN agencies, the UAE Red
Crescent Authority, NGOs, procurement and logistics officials,
researchers and speakers from youth associations.

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Link "http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/events/eventAF/cache/offonce?entryId=31613">DIHAD
2012

Key IOM Documents

This year's conference will focus on the role and importance of
youth in humanitarian assistance and development. It will examine
the role of young people in conflict and in post-conflict
reconciliation and their needs to become future agents change,
innovators and volunteers.

"The rising numbers of young people over the past few decades
means this group is critical for social stability and sustainable
development," says IOM Director General Swing. "Young people are a
demographic gift to their societies, a resource and a catalyst for
innovation and social change, especially if they are provided with
an enabling environment, which includes the possibility to safely
engage in patterns of mobility."

With almost 40 per cent of the world's population under 24 and
85 per cent of the young people living in the developing world,
truly sustainable development is unlikely without dedicated efforts
to satisfy the emotional and material needs of young people, he
said.

"It is the younger generation that will require the knowledge
and skills to confront key development challenges such as poverty
and unemployment, environmental degradation and climate change, and
access to healthcare, housing and education, " he added.

The DIHAD Conference will also discuss current humanitarian
trends and review on-going chronic emergencies.

For more information, please contact:

Mohammed Abdiker

IOM Geneva

Tel: +41 79540 33 29

E-mail: "mailto:mabdiker@iom.int">smabdiker@iom.int