The YLP was first held in Qatar in 2012, and is offered to young people living in disputing or developing nations to educate them on health, gender, disability, education, and peace, in order to nurture participants into experts in the areas of sports development and peace.

The YLP has since been held on every continent, and will be held in Gwangju for the first time this year, then every year until 2015.

This year's YLP will be held at the Honam University Gwangsan campus from August 22 until September 3, where 30 young people will participate.

The key components of the programme include leadership lectures, theory and practical education on sport, peace, disablities, and education, sports activities led by professional coaches in sports such as taekwondo, football and swimming, and experiencing various aspects of Korean culture such as traditional dress, food, and tea ceremony.

The seventh Youth Leadership Programme will take place in Gwangju this summer

Through the mediation of UNOSDP, the YLP is planning to invite the youths of North Korea, where it is hoped that peaceful conditions can be achieved through sport between the North and South Korea.

Those taking part will also participate in the EPICS Forum, which will be held on the second day of the YLP.

The forum is a youth mentorship programme in which participants will be able to learn from important world figures such as UN special advisor of sport, Wilfred Lemke, and Stefan Berge, vice-President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU).

During the forum, the speakers will deliver the values of each of the five fields chosen by UN and the Organising Committee: environment, peace, IT, culture, and sports development, whilst speakers will continue to mentor participants through to 2015 through online activity.

A spokesman for Gwangju 2015 said: "YLP will provide the foundation for the participants to become the leaders of the next generation by cultivating sociality and leadership skills.

"We hope that this will become a good opportunity for the youths of the two Koreas to build friendship regardless of the political ideologies by participating together."

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