If you have #Teens August 12th is International Youth Day #YouthDay a day to celebrate our children. Come and join me and let your children know how much you love them. Do something special for them. I am going to make Charlie #Breakfast for dinner this evening, Would you like to join us?
International Youth Day falls on August 12th and this holiday focuses on the difficulties that some young people are experiencing throughout the world. Half the children between the age of six and 13 lack basic reading and math skills and childhood poverty is still a problem globally.
International Youth Day was created by the UN to help draw awareness to these issues as we strive to find solutions. International Youth Day is a day for reflection but also a day for taking action so get involved. There’ll be many concerts, workshops and cultural events taking place so have a look at what is happening in your local area.
International Youth Day is an initiative that honors the traits of young people and that acknowledges the challenges that today’s fledging youth face. To support the elimination of these issues it is important that the youth is able to reach the right resources for education, wellbeing, medicine and more. Scholaroo is a platform that has centralized scholarships from around the world to help the youth of the world.
International Youth Day began in 2000 and International Youth Day was organized by the UN to recognize the input that young people make in education, community development, environmental groups, volunteering for different social projects.
Our young and carefree days don’t last forever. Unfortunately, many youngsters around the world face difficulties and have limited access to essential resources that can pave the way for a better future. These problems faced by youth are observed on International Youth Day on August 12th.
In 1965 the United Nations General Assembly began making a concerted effort to impact the youth. They endorsed the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples. They began devoting time and resources to empower the youth by recognizing up-and-coming leaders and offering them resources to meet the needs of the world.
On December 17th, 1999, the UN General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, and International Youth Day was formed. International Youth Day was first celebrated on August 12th, 2000, and ever since International Youth Day has been used to educate society. Mobilize the youth in politics, and manage resources to address global problems.
International Youth Day is often accompanied by major events. In 2013 an International Youth Conference was hosted by YOUTHINK, featuring many key speakers and an awards ceremony. More recent events have been hosted by the Indian Youth Cafe in Chennai. The theme for 2019 was “transforming education.”
Last year, the theme of International Youth Day 2020 was “Youth Engagement for Global Action”. The aim of this theme was to call attention to the ways in which the participation of young people at the national and international levels is complimenting national and multilateral institutions and processes. Another important aim was to draw lessons on how their involvement in institutional politics can be increased.
Traditions of the Day
International Youth Day gives a platform to the voices of the youth. International Youth Day engages youngsters and aims to take initiatives and actions that will increase opportunities for our youth. The youth of the world faces different challenges and barriers to prosperity, depending on which part of the world they are living in.
Young people living in developed and developing Countries are more prone to facing mental- and social challenges, whereas young people living in underdeveloped Countries face extreme problems rooted in a lack of more basic needs including education, health, and employment.
These issues and challenges are widely discussed on local, institutional, and governmental levels. Seminars, training sessions, debates, discussion forums featuring influential figures including key speakers, fundraisers, and the distribution of educational material for informing and creating awareness take place on International Youth Day. Through a better understanding of the problems that are hurdles for youth development, policy changes can be more easily implemented.
Let’s Celebrate International Youth Day
- If you have the opportunity you should attend an International Youth Day. Including concerts, sporting events, parades, and mobile exhibitions that showcase young people’s achievements. You’ll feel inspired by youths talent and entertained at the same time.
- The best thing that we can offer kids is education. Look into mentorship programs and discover what you can impart to the next generation. There are big brother and big sister programs, music programs, assisting with speech therapy, and more.
- Get involved and start a round-table discussion between adults and young people. This can be between parents and children or students and teachers. Come up with topics revolving around the theme of the year and really listen to what the younger generation has to say.
Facts About International Youth Day
- The World Health Organization is developing global standards for health within schools.
- 16 million kids in the US struggle with hunger each year.
- Children and adolescents should do an hour or more of physical activity each day.
- Youth Ambassador Mohammed Assaf is a Palestine refugee and uses his music to give messages of hope to young Palestine refugees.
- At 25 years old Rita Kimani of Kenya is the co-founder of FarmDrive which connects unbanked and underserved smallholder farmers to credit.
Why People Love International Youth Day
- International Youth Day does more than simply encouraging kids directly. International Youth Day also lays out a set of priorities to focus on creating tangible improvements in children’s lives. The fifteen priorities created by the UN include areas of focus like reducing cases of HIV/AIDS, fighting childhood hunger, and providing more access to education.
- Many children go to bed hungry each night, or head to school in the morning without a nutritious breakfast to help them stay focused in class. In the United States alone, 13.1 million kids live in food insecure-homes, which means that these children and their families don’t have access to enough nutritious food to lead healthy lives. Children in other Countries around the world face similar hardships, and many can find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty that is difficult to break free from as they grow into adults. The more aware we are of these issues, the faster we can work together to help erase them.
- International Youth Day’s list of actionable priorities encourages others to think about specific things they can do to make a tangible difference in kids’ lives. In recent writings about International Youth Day, the UN has put a strong focus on reducing pollution, sustainably using local products and services so they’ll remain available for the next generation and ensuring as many communities as possible will have access to resources. Naming such ambitious but doable goals serve as inspiration for all of us to think hard about efficient steps we can take to make them happen.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
