International Youth Day

Children are the future of a country and youth is the backbone of a nation. They are the strongest asset of a company in all fields including Education, Defence, Business and more! Therefore, it is worth celebrating the contribution and honor of the voices of young ones around us. To do so, the United Nations has marked 12th August as the International Youth Day (IYD). 

Why is International Youth Day Celebrated?

The day is celebrated to give opportunities to celebrate the voice, actions, and initiatives of young people around the world. It was recommended by the  World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in Lisbon around 8-12 August 1998 that 12 August gets declared as an International Youth Day. The first day was celebrated in the year 1999. This day is important as it brings to attention the youth issues and celebrates the potential of youth as partners in today’s society. 

History 

The oldest youth organization was organized in 1925 with the name The Key Club. It began at Sacramento High School to contend against the negative effects of the fraternities and social clubs.

In 1965, the UN hosted the first ‘Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples,’ which promotes the development of youth.

Youth Day 2022

The theme of this year’s International Youth Day is “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”. The aim is to highlight that the success of such a global effort will not be achieved without the meaningful participation of young people.

Through this, we acknowledge that there is a need for inclusive support mechanisms to ensure that youth continue to participate and volunteer individually or collectively to restore the planet. It also maintains that it is important to integrate biodiversity in the transformation of food systems. The population keeps increasing, and there is a possibility of increasing it to 2 billion in the next 30 years. It is recognized that simply producing a larger volume of food more sustainably will not ensure human and planetary wellbeing. There are other crucial challenges as well, including, poverty reduction, social inclusion, healthcare, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. 

Through youth education, commitment, development, and entrepreneurial solutions, this year’s International Youth Day plans to give a stage to youth to continue with the energy from the EYF in the lead-up to the high-level Food Systems Summit. This year, International Youth Day will be celebrated by DESA in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Major Group for Children and Youth.

Also Read: International Day of UN Peacekeepers: May 29

Themes for Previous International Youth Days

Here are the themes for the previous International Youth Days:

• 2021- Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health
• 2020- ‘Youth Engagement for Global Action’
• 2019- ‘Transforming education
• 2018- ‘Safe Spaces for Youth’
• 2017- ‘Youth Building Peace
• 2016- ‘The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production
• 2015- ‘Youth and Civic Engagement
• 2014- ‘Youth and Mental Health’

Fun Fact: IYD ’18 and IYD ’19 were hosted by Indian Youth Cafe, Chennai

Also Read: List of top International Organizations

Statistics Around Youth

• People between age 15-24 are considered youth
• 1/6th of the world population is youth
• The idea was first proposed in 1991 to celebrate International Youth Day
• 77% of today’s youth is informally employed
• 2/3 of the youth in the developing countries are unable to fulfill their economic potential
• 126 million youth could not read or write a sentence in 2011

Traditions of Youth Day

International Youth Day engages youth and aims to improve opportunities for them. Depending on the part of the world, the youth faces several challenges before reaching their path. While youth go through several mental and social challenges, those in underdeveloped countries still fail to receive basic needs such as health, education, and employment making it tough for them to begin their lives.

These issues are what Youth Day discusses at national, international, and local levels. Several seminars, webinars, debates, training sessions are conducted with influential people as key speakers, and fundraisers to use the platform for the growth of youngsters. By understanding these problems, we can come up with solutions that can help empower the most crucial generations. 

That was all about International Youth Day. The best way of celebrating life is fulfilling our lifelong dreams. We believe that every young person should experience studying abroad at least once in their life to become a better version of themselves. If your thoughts match ours, connect with our team at Leverage Edu! We will help you through the entire study abroad process from admission to accommodation. Book your FREE Consultation Slot today or Call us at 1800 57 2000.