Forest Whitaker addresses world leaders at United Nations conference

Oscar-winning actor FOREST WHITAKER addressed a special gathering of politicians from around the world at the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters in New York City on Monday (31Aug15).
The Last King of Scotland star is a special envoy for the U.N.’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and was named keynote speaker at the Fourth World Conference of Parliament Speakers held by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He kicked off the conference on Monday with a rousing speech in which he urged political leaders to pay more attention to young people to stop them becoming disillusioned, saying, “(Young people are struggling) to define their identities and discover their purposes… You have to help these people find their way so they can stand strong. You have to demonstrate that everyone matters, and that every person in a democracy has power and efficacy. You have to convince them to hope again… We can’t give up on the current generation and simply try again on the next one. We have to nurture those young women and men now.”
The conference runs until Wednesday (02Sep15).