YMP's programmes, projects, and productions are designed to enable young journalists to be involved in various aspects of the media and to report on issues affecting the lives of young people and others in their own local communities and worldwide. YMP offers media internships to young journalists at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland and at its regional bureaus. It also provides opportunities for participation in international and multicultural youth media teams covering events organised by the United Nations system and other relevant international and regional organisations. YMP programmes and projects are facilitated by media professionals who have considerable experience working with young people and within the framework of the UN system.

The hope is that YMP's Intern Programme and Youth Media Team Projects give young people from different countries and cultures the opportunity to learn and work together in a cooperative international setting. These experiences provide an opportunity for them to engage in meaningful exchanges with diplomats, international and national leaders, social activists, and their peers.

To cite one example of a particular project, YMP convened a Youth Media Team to cover the World Youth Forum of the United Nations System (WYFUNS) and World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth - both in August 1998 in Portugal. The aim was to ensure that the concerns, issues, and projects of children and youth were given sufficient coverage in the media, especially from a youth perspective. A team of girls - 2 from Portugal, 2 from the UK, and 1 from Mexico - was provided with hands-on assistance/training to strengthen their techniques in interviewing, photography, writing and editing articles, and video. They also received guidance in working as a productive team, meeting deadlines, and in creating ethical and responsible media. Based on their attendance at the events, the girls produced articles and photos for dissemination and publication in local and international media. Team members were asked, in advance, to contact their local newspapers, magazines, radio stations, Internet sites, and television stations to request coverage of the events in the form of media products generated by the team. In addition, through YMP's previously established network as well as new requests for material, contacts were made with mainstream and youth media worldwide.

Youth, Rights, Political Development, Media Development.

There are 10 regional bureaus: Kenya, Philippines, Turkey, Slovenia, Russia, Portugal, USA, Costa Rica, and Brazil.