World Assembly of Youth

The World Assembly of Youth (WAY; French: ''Assemblée Mondiale de la Jeunesse''; Spanish: ''Asamblea Mundial de la Juventud'') is the international coordinating body of national youth councils and national youth organisations. The full members of WAY are national youth councils. WAY currently has 140 member organisations from all continents. As the international coordinating body of national youth councils, WAY has special consultative status with the United Nations, the highest status possible for a non-governmental organization. WAY co-operates with the UN and many of its special agencies, particularly with UNAIDS, UNEP, ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNCTAD and WHO.

The World Assembly of Youth recognises the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the basis of its action and services. WAY promotes the work of youth organisations in areas such as: democracy, environment, human rights, population, health, drugs, community development, leadership training, and cultural and religious tolerance. It provides opportunities for youth representatives from different countries to exchange ideas and experiences, to coordinate programme plans, and to reach a better understanding of each other's problems due to differences in racial, religious, and national backgrounds.

The regional structure of the National Youth Councils in all the continents, Asian Youth Council, European Youth Forum, Caribbean Youth Forum, Forum for the Integration of Asean Youth, Pacific Youth Council, Arab Youth Union, Pan-African Youth Union, African-Arab Youth Council, SADC Youth Movement, are consultative members.

The WAY Headquarters is located in the World Youth Complex in Melaka, Malaysia, having been previously established in London, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, and Kuala Lumpur. The organization is financed from annual membership fees and voluntary contributions from its member organisations, and it has three official languages: English, French, and Spanish. Provided by Wikipedia