UCLA Named Host Site for the 2010 Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership World Leadership Congress

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been selected as the host site for the 2010 Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership World Leadership Congress to be held July 23-30. It is the first time since 1980 that UCLA has hosted the event and marks the international Congress' first return to Southern California in 25 years.

Now in its 42(nd) year, the 2010 World Leadership Congress is expected to attract 400 youth ambassadors from the United States and at least 15 different countries who will engage in leadership learning and hands-on community service projects. Participants will include a portion of the nearly 9,600 high school students who will attend one of HOBY's 70 leadership seminars to be held across the country in the spring. That group will be complemented by international students that help enrich the learning experience of today's global society.

"HOBY seminars are an opportunity for today's youth to strengthen their leadership skills and open the doors to ideas and possibilities, while providing direct access to community, government and business leaders," said Javier LaFianza, president and chief executive officer of HOBY. "For many participants, this is a life-changing event and helps them begin to realize the possibility of their potential."

In welcoming students to the 2009 Congress in Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama said that he "encourages the HOBY Ambassadors to dream big dreams and always remember that your service and active participation in your community, no matter how small, can have a profound effect on the world."

Further information on the 2010 World Leadership Congress or on any of the seminars scheduled for spring 2010 may be obtained at www.hoby.org. For information on sponsorship opportunities or how to become involved, please contact LaFianza directly at lafianzaj@hoby.org.

For more than 50 years, Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership has helped to cultivate tomorrow's leaders by inspiring a global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service and innovation. Widely considered the country's top not-for-profit youth leadership development organization, HOBY programs annually provide nearly 10,000 local and international high school students the opportunity to participate in unique leadership training, service learning and motivation-building experiences. HOBY also provides adults the opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of youth by volunteering, and today more than 4,000 volunteers and over 375,000 alumni proudly make up the HOBY family. Further information may be obtained at www.hoby.org.