Tunis — President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali called Monday for the year 2010 to be proclaimed "World Youth Year", as well as for "a World Youth Conference", the same year, under the auspices of the United Nations.

The call came in the opening address by President Ben Ali of the International Conference on "Youth Issues in the Islamic World: Present Stakes and Future Challenges," held in Tunis in collaboration between the Government of Tunisia and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The "World Youth Conference", said President Ben Ali, "should be attended by young people from all parts of the world, and shall focus on youth issues"; it would also be "crowned with the issuing of an International Pact" uniting young people in the world in their belief "in common universal values", he added.

Noting that "the current world situation is a source of deep concern" and that "Islamic societies are faced with huge challenges in the cultural, communication, scientific, technological and economic fields", young people he said "should be in the forefront of the forces of development, modernization, beneficial action and contribution" adding that "Nothing can be done without the participation of youth".

In Tunisia , he said, "we have developed a legislation lowering the age of candidacy for municipal and parliamentary elections to 23 years and the voting age from 20 to 18", insisting that the participation of young people in public affairs is "a sign of awareness, maturity , true citizenship and sound democratic practice".

Analyzing the various means of preparing young people to be "a driving force" in society, President Ben Ali first stressed the importance of education as a tool to "instil respect for knowledge and work, commitment to dialogue and tolerance, moderation and the rejection of hatred and extremism".

He also stressed the role of "culture and information", as a means to elevate "our culture from the local to the universal" and enrich it thanks to the interaction with foreign cultures. "The third sector that that deserves great attention," he added, is that of "information and communication technologies", which can foster employments as well as investments and economic projects.

"Another equally important sector", he said is, "sports that most attracts young people's attention". Sports, he added is "a means of social promotion, and one of the factors of economic development".

In this line of thought, Tunisia's President referred to the endorsement by the United Nations' 58 th session of Tunisia's proposal of a resolution to include within UN texts the right of every human being for "physical education, away from any danger or discrimination".

The fifth sector he mentioned is that of the "vital role of the family", all the more so at a time when "some TV channels are disseminating ideas incompatible with our genuine Islamic traditions and values", he said.

Finally, he highlighted the importance of employment, which is "one of the great challenges confronting our societies. Work being a fundamental pillar of dignity and true citizenship" he added.

During a ceremony that took place prior to the address he gave, President Ben Ali was awarded the special Shield of the Conference by the Secretary General of the Islamic Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), Dr Abdelaziz Altwaijri. He was also awarded the Shield of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYFDC) by its president, Pr Ali Sarakaya.