New York, USA,  27 August. The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are calling on youth from all over the world to vote before 1 November 2010 for their favorite video from the PLURAL+ 2010 Youth Video Festival finalist entries. The invitation for this new PLURAL + Youth Audience Award was announced by the UNAoC and IOM on the occasion of the United Nations International Year of Youth on Dialogue and Mutual Understanding launched last 12 August by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Youth from around the world are invited to visit PLURAL+ website ( http://www.unaoc.org/pluralplus ) for further information on how to watch the videos and vote for the Youth Audience Award.

The participating videos express young people's thoughts, experiences, questions and suggestions on migration, diversity, integration, identity and social inclusion, highlighting their realities as well as ideas on developing a peaceful coexistence in diverse cultural and religious contexts.

The aim of PLURAL+ is to ensure youth engagement in these important issues both at local and global levels by mainstreaming their voices through a variety of media platforms and distribution networks (broadcast, video festivals, conferences, events, Internet, DVD) around the world.

"PLURAL+ participation demonstrates how young people across the world are willing to creatively engage in complex social issues such as migration and cultural inclusiveness", said Marc Scheuer, Director of the UN Alliance of Civilizations.

The winner of the PLURAL+ Youth Audience Award will be announced on 12 November 2010 at the Paley Center for Media in New York. In addition, all youth participants selecting their favorite video will automatically enter in a drawing with the opportunity of winning a Flip camera. For details and information please visit PLURAL + website at www.unaoc.org/pluralplus

For additional information, please contact:
Jordi Torrent, UNAOC, plural@unaoc.org
Elif Zeybel, IOM New York, ezeybel@iom.int