American Youth aged 12-21 who we are interested in creating international change for peers with disabilities through human rights advocacy and cutting-edge awareness raising techniques are invited to apply to attend the Open Hands “Youth Ability Summit” in Damascus, Syria from August 1-3 2010.* Those selected will receive a free, round-trip ticket from anywhere in the continental U.S. and full accommodations to attend the Summit.**
At the Summit, participants will work together with Syrian youth involved in disability rights advocacy to share our cultures and perspectives, learn about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to create an action-packed, youth-centered global awareness campaign.
Attending the conference in Damascus will also provide a unique opportunity to experience one of the world’s oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Damascus, renowned as a major cultural center of the Middle East, was chosen as the 2008 Arab Capital of Culture and boasts some of the finest antiquities and historical sites in the region. Syria is an extremely safe tourist destination, with no petty crime.
The Youth Ability Summit is being organized by the Open Hands Initiative, dedicated to improving people-to-people understanding by emphasizing our basic shared values and common humanity and the Victor Pineda Foundation, an educational non-profit organization that promotes the rights and dignities of young people with disabilities.
