When the United Nations began planning the Global Youth Forum - the first major UN Forum designed specifically for youth input on the development agenda - they asked us to create a program to expand the sphere of participation beyond walls of the Forum itself. We conceived and created a brand that fostered participation and an online platform that allowed youth to sign up as virtual delegates to participate from anywhere in the world. Over 2500 youth representing every single country (even Antartica!) participated. The brand and platform proved so successful that it has become a template for use with other UN conferences. As a direct result of the broad engagement we fostered, the Bali Declaration – the document that came out of the Global Youth Forum - has been hailed as the most progressive UN declaration ever.
"One of the goals of the UN review of progress towards to goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development was to engage a younger generation with the principles of the programme of action and to ensure that the priorities of youth were reflected in a forward looking agenda to deliver human dignity and secure individual rights beyond 2014. From the outset, Ultravirgo provided the ICPD Beyond 2014 Secretariat with exceptional creative support for our work, questioning, exploring and working with us to provide stand-out design work that has clearly articulated the goals and values of the review. Their acute insight into our issues and the creative integrity of their work is clear and their ability to 'think forward' is invaluable. Their work on branding for the Global Youth Forum website and associated social media collateral helped us to reach out to and engage over 3000 young people. Their work not only supported our team to build strong sense of connection to the ICPD agenda for a new generation, it gave identity to a community that will have lasting strategic value."
Anita Wiseman
ICPD Communications Specialist
UNFPA - The United Nations Population Fund