YOUTH
YOUTH
"Let us acknowledge and celebrate what youth can do to
build a safer, more just world.
Let us strengthen our efforts to include young people in
policies, programmes and decision-making processes that
benefit their futures and ours.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
International Youth Day, 12 August 2010
The UN defines youth as people between the
ages of 15 and 24 years
Youth number 1.2 billion
. . .or 18 per cent of the world’s population
Currently, 62 per cent of youth live in Asia. . .the
next largest proportion, 17 per cent, live in Africa
In 1985, to improve the situation of young people globally,
the General Assembly adopted the
World Programme of Action for Youth
World Programme of Action for Youth
to the Year 2000 and Beyond
was adopted by the GA in 1995
The UN
Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development
coordinates activities of the UN system
Investing in youth
is smart economics and
crucial for development
Investment must begin during early childhood and
adolescence, when life-long patterns of behaviour begin
UN agencies
analyze the state of
children and youth
EMPLOYMENT
is one of its priority areas of work
Comprising 25 % of the working age population,
youth accounted for 40 % of the world's unemployed
In 2009
about 81 million young people were unemployed
. . . the
highest
number
ever
FAO’s Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools
programme in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Hunger and Poverty
64 per cent
of African and
84 per cent
of Asian youth
live in
countries
where 1/3rd of
the population
survive on less
than $2-a-day
School Meals have become a safety net for the poor
EDUCATION
is a challenge for young people in developing countries
In
Africa
more than 25 per cent of the continent’s youth are illiterate
UNICEF-supported “Go to School Initiative”
quadrupled the number of school enrolments
from 2002 to 2009 in Southern Sudan
Girls and
young
women
face special
challenges
Measures to protect them from forced marriages,
trafficking and sexual abuse are inadequate
In
Armed Conflicts
girls and women are disproportionately targeted
In 2008, few
girls and women
participated inthe
Disarmament,
Demobilization,
Reintegration
programmes,
fearing
stigmatization
For the last two decades, the UN has been at
the forefront of efforts to protect children and
youth in armed conflict
AIDS is one of
the most formidable challenges to the world
Among youth infected with the HIV virus, 80%, or
4 million people, live in sub-Saharan Africa—70% are female
The United Nations supports youth in combating
Climate Change
. . .through
educational
programmes,
adaptation
initiatives
.
and
participation
“More than any other generation, you have a voice...
You understand the power of instant communication.
I appeal to you to use that power for the common good”.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Model UN Conference, 13 May 2010