On November 3, world-renowned athletes, Olympic gold medalists, musicians, members of the civil society and youth gathered in Times Square, New York, for Save the Dream – an unprecedented collective commitment to providing youth with access to opportunities through sport.

On this occasion, several videos addressing the impact of global conflicts on children were shown on Times Square’s big screens. Among the videos screened was a montage of previous winning films from PLURAL+ International Youth Film Festival depicting positive migration, social integration and youth opportunities despite displacement.

PLURAL+ - a joint initiative by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) - focuses on migration, diversity and social inclusion, aiming to foster dialogue, partnership and actions on critical issues along with opportunities faced by youth worldwide.

PLURAL+ recognizes youth as powerful agents of social change, and supports cooperative efforts to reduce tension in a world too often characterized by conflict and division.

This year, the PLURAL + Festival will take place on 3 December 2015 at the Paley Center in New York. Click here to RSVP.

For the first time ever, Times Square was transformed into a soccer field on which youth and soccer stars alike were invited to play throughout the day to draw the international community’s attention on the benefits of sport as a mean to facilitate development, empowerment, community building, and opportunity. 

PLURAL+ joined Save the Dream’s ambassadors including Fernando Sanz, former Real Madrid and Spain captain, Fernando Hierro and 2006 World Cup winning former Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero, among many other notable participants.

Save the Dream announced partnership initiatives to design and implement programmes for refugee youth. Senegalese singer, Youssou N’Dour, recorded and released a song dedicated to the 3 November event. All download proceeds will go towards Save the Dream and its projects for refugee youth.

Find out more about the initiative here.

For further information please contact Olivia Headon at Office of the Permanent Observer to the United Nations - IOM, New York, Tel: +1 212 681 7000 ext 221, Email: oheadon@iom.int