MANILA (ILO News): You've got two minutes to tell your story. You can make a difference! The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched a video contest for young people (from 18 to 29 years) to show how the global jobs crisis is affecting their lives.

Three winners will be invited to Geneva (all expenses paid) to attend the ILO Youth Employment Forum, to be held from 23-25 May 2012, where they will have the opportunity to present their videos.

The Youth Employment Forum will gather more than one hundred young people who are engaged in promoting decent work for youth. The Forum will provide a platform for young people to share their experiences and views on the current employment situation, as well as to discuss successful initiatives that create more and better jobs for youth.

Videos must be submitted no later than 10 April 2012 at 23.59 GMT. For details and guidelines on how to participate in the video contest, please consult the Instructions for participants: ILO video contest on Decent Work for Youth or contact youth@ilo.org.

What are your experiences, thoughts and ideas?

Globally, young people are nearly 3 times more likely than adults to be unemployed. Many of the young, who do work, have poor working conditions and often found in vulnerable forms of employment.

In the Philippines, of the 18.2 million Filipinos, aged 15-24, there are:

• 1.5 million unemployed youth striving to find employment opportunities after investing in their skills and education that may not be in demand at home or abroad, and
• 2.3 million vulnerably employed youth often unable to invest in their education, which forces them into forms of vulnerable employment. Vulnerably employed youth are often left with little choice but to accept or create whatever work they can find, just so they and their loved ones can survive another day. This is of greater concern.

Get involved with the discussion on youth employment. Share your voice NOW! Check out the “WHAT ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE?” on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/youth.ilo.

For further information please contact:

Ms Ruth Georget
MDG Fund Joint Programme on Alternatives to Migration:
Decent Jobs for Filipino Youth
Tel: +63 2 580 9941 / 580 9900
Email

Ms Minette Rimando
ILO Country Office for the Philippines
Tel: +63 2 580 9905 / 580 9900
Email