INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2001 CELEBRATED WITH
CONCERT OF CLASSICAL, FOLK & POPULAR SONGS

Girton College Chapel Choir makes Southeast Asia debut
at UN ESCAP on 8 August

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services) – Girton College Chapel Choir of Cambridge University, England, will present a concert of classical, folk and popular music at the United Nations Conference Centre on 8 August to commemorate International Youth Day 2001.

The concert, which marks the Choir’s Southeast Asia debut, is being presented by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

For the past 10 years Girton College Choir has been growing in prominence at home and abroad. The award-winning Choir has performed in France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, and toured Central America. Following its performances in Thailand, the Choir will tour Malaysia, Lao PDR, Singapore and Sarawak/East Malaysia.

The choir's repertoire is very diverse and ranges from Byrd to Britten, with a wide range of secular music to complement the sacred works that form the staple fare of Cambridge choirs. Mr. Martin Ennis is the Choir’s Music Director.

Admission to the concert is by invitation only. For further information, please call UN ESCAP at 288-1660.

Background

Youth -- defined by the United Nations as the age group between 15 and 24 years old -- make up one sixth of the world's population. The majority of these young men and women live in developing countries, and their numbers are expected to rise steeply into the twenty-first century.

International Youth Day aims to promote awareness, especially among youth, of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond. The World Programme calls for action in 10 priority areas: education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls and young women, and full and effective participation of youth in the life of society and in decision-making. It also recommends national, regional and global implementation of the Programme.

For more information, please contact:
Human Resources Development Section/ESCAP
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Tel: (66-2) 288-1660; Fax: (66-2) 288 3031
E-mail: hrd-section.unescap@un.org

                                                                                            UNIS