Did you know that half the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030?
Today is International Youth Day, designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 and commemorated every year on 12 August. It stands as a globally recognised day, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society.
Be Seen Be Heard Campaign
Building on the successful launch of the Be Seen, Be Heard campaign in May, the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth invites you to join us throughout August by celebrating youth leadership, amplifying young voices in public life, and raising awareness around the importance of meaningful youth representation and intergenerational collaboration in decision-making spaces around the world.
So many organisations in our VCSE sector are working hard to engage and amplify the voices of young people in the North East. Why not celebrate International Youth Day throughout August within your community using one of the suggested ideas from United Nations
This is your day!
Think about what you can do in you community and how you can effectively spread the message. Make it fun and relatable and use all your channels to spread the message. Think Facebook, Twitter, university newsletters, local newspapers.
- Educational radio show. Contact popular local/national radio stations to request a slot to have a discussion with distinguished individuals and youth.
- Organize a (virtual) public meeting or debate to discuss young people’s contributions to global issues.
- Initiate round table discussions among adults and young people to promote intergenerational understanding.
- Organize a youth forum to exchange ideas and discuss cultural backgrounds in order to help young people accept others and popularize a culture of non-violence.
- Organize a (virtual) concert to promote International Youth Day and the launch of the Year. Invite your local musicians and combine it with a panel discussion or invite a politician or policy maker to hold the key note speech.
- Create an “info point” about youth-related issues in the center of town/village, at high schools, or at university centers.
- Organize an exhibition. Get permission to use a public space for an arts exhibit, which showcases the challenges of young people today or how young people are contributing to development. Try to involve young people in the domains of culture, arts and music, to raise awareness on youth-related issues.
The campaign’s key objective is to change one piece of legislation or policy, or support programming to promote youth participation in public life, in over 75 countries around the world where The Body Shop operates.
You can find out more about Be Seen Be Heard and download the full campaign report here.
Use #YouthDay, #BeSeenBeHeard and tag @UNYouthEnvoy to get involved
Secretary-General's message for 2022
Today, we celebrate International Youth Day, and the power of partnerships across generations.
This year’s theme — “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages” — reminds us of a basic truth: we need people of all ages, young and old alike, to join forces to build a better world for all.
Too often, ageism, bias and discrimination prevent this essential collaboration. When young people are shut out of the decisions being made about their lives, or when older people are denied a chance to be heard, we all lose.
Solidarity and collaboration are more essential than ever, as our world faces a series of challenges that threaten our collective future.
From COVID-19 to climate change, to conflicts, poverty, inequality and discrimination, we need all hands on deck to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and build the better, more peaceful future we all seek.
We need to support young people with massive investments in education and skills-building — including through next month’s Transforming Education Summit.
We also need to support gender equality and expanded opportunities for young people to participate in civic and political life.
It’s not enough to listen to young people — we need to integrate them into decision-making mechanisms at the local, national and international levels.
This is at the heart of our proposal to establish a new Youth Office at the United Nations.
And we need to ensure that older generations have access to social protection and opportunities to give back to their communities and share the decades of lived experience they have accumulated.
On this important day, let’s join hands across generations to break down barriers, and work as one to achieve a more equitable, just and inclusive world for all people.