INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2007 
EMBRACING THE FUTURE WITH OPTIMISM

Belgrade, 11 August 2007 – On the occasion of 12 August – International Youth Day, HRH Crown Prince Alexander II sent a letter to Mr. David Lance Clark, UNDP Resident Representative and to HE Mrs. Snezana-Samardzic Markovic, Minister for Youth and Sports of Serbia.

Crown Prince Alexander II expressed his congratulations on this day, by stressing out that youth are the future of every country, and that the Serbian youth hope to see visa liberation, better education, jobs, economic and political stability. When this happens, young people will stop leaving Serbia in large numbers. In order to achieve this, every kind of effort must be made, expressed Crown Prince Alexander II.

Although Serbia has moved forward in the past few years, it is still facing many challenges. Crown Prince Alexander, for his part, has founded the Foundation for Culture and Education, committed to advance the education and academic research in Serbia, to stop the brain drain and to help promote democratic values. The main goal of the Foundation is to help students connect with the business community and the world. Recent activities include the cooperation with Anatolia College of Thessaloniki and organizing English courses by American postgraduate students for the Serbian secondary school pupils, as well as organizing summer camps in Europe and the US, as well as the EPFL Summer School of Life Sciences. 22 scholarships have been obtained thanks to the cooperation with Nottingham University in the UK.

Crown Prince Alexander II firmly believes that everyone must get involved when it comes to youth. The Crown Prince hopes that a long lasting cooperation will be established between the UNDP and the Serbian Government.