Some 60 young participants from 16 nations gathered in Shanghai on Tuesday for the Global Youth Summit to discuss the Child-friendly Version of UN Disability Convention.

The United Nations International Children's Emergence Fund (UNICEF), together with the Special Olympics, jointly organized the summit. The two-day event was also a prelude to the 2007 Special Olympic Games unveiled yesterday.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman welcomed the participants and attended the group discussions of several delegations.

"I am very honored to be here with you," she said. "We are forming a partnership through this year's Games to jointly work on the issues of young people and children with disabilities."

Ann said the two sides' joint efforts would be announced at a press conference today.

Participants discussed the issue of social discrimination and inequity among young people. They also scanned every item of the Convention such as the right to education and public places for disabled people and offered suggestions to improve the document in order to make it more appealing and easy to understand for children across the globe.

Participants were also asked to contribute a story, a poem or a painting to better spread awareness for the Convention.

(China Daily October 3, 2007)