MAASTRICHT, 04/01/07 - The descendants of five former world leaders will speak in Maastricht on 20 January as guests of honour at an event appealing to young people to take action for a better world.

The great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, the granddaughter of Tito, the children of Ingrid BÈtancourt, the daughter of Martin Luther King and the son of Steve Biko will talk about the lives of their forebears and how they themselves do their best for a better world. The event, B the change, is an initiative by media organisation IdtV and the Dutch Red Cross.

The event in the MECC congress centre includes several master classes, lectures and workshops for young people who think that the world could be more tolerant, the organisers explain. During B the change, three initiatives for bringing different groups of young people closer together will receive a subsidy to help their project.