It’s International Youth Day!

International Youth Day is held on the 12th August globally each year. International Youth Day is an awareness day, originally set up by the United Nations to draw attention to global issues surrounding youth and the difficulties young people face around the world, and to recognise the impact that young people have on community development, environmental groups and education. 

International Youth Day was first celebrated on the 12th August, 2000. Since that day, the awareness day has been used to educate society worldwide; bringing attention to the issues facing todays youth, mobilize the youth in politics, encouraging youth across the world to organise activities to raise awareness about the situations of youth in their country, and manage resources to address global problems. 

There are different challenges and barriers to growth for young people around the globe, depending on where they live. It is more common for young people living in developed and developing countries to experience mental and social difficulties, while in underdeveloped countries the problem is rooted in the absence of basic needs, such as education, health, and employment.  

There is a great deal of discussion on these issues and challenges at the local, institutional, and governmental level. During International Youth Day, seminars, training sessions, debates, discussion forums featuring influential figures as key speakers, fundraisers, and educational materials are distributed to inform and raise awareness. Through a better understanding, policy changes can be more easily implemented to combat the problems facing youth development. 

This years theme is “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World” which aims to highlight the use and importance of ‘green skills’ – these skills are the abilities, knowledge, values and attitudes needed to develop, support and live in a more sustainable and efficient society. 

International Youth Day celebrates the qualities and potential of youth, encouraging today’s youth to raise their voices about issues they are facing in their country, promotes others to think about what they can do to create positive change and build a better future. 

Find out how you can get involved on the UN website here: https://bit.ly/3OPHiuD