The theme of this year’s International Youth Day is Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World. While it can be overwhelming to find out how to participate in the day’s celebrations, we’ve made it easy with some suggestions from the United Nations on how you can support the youth of the future.
Attend an International Youth Day event: Attend an International Youth Day. There are concerts, sporting events, parades, and mobile exhibitions that showcase young people’s achievements. You’ll feel inspired by their talent and entertained at the same time.
Lend a helping hand: 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.
Have an intergenerational discussion: 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.
Did you know?
According to the UN, half of the people on the planet are 30 years old or younger, and this is expected to reach 57 per cent by the end of 2030.
Surveys shows that 67 per cent of people believe in a better future, with 15 to 17 year-olds being the most optimistic about this.
The majority of people agree that the age balance in politics is wrong. More than two thirds (69 per cent) of people across all age groups agree that more opportunities for younger people to have a say in policy development/change would make political systems better.
Globally, only 2.6 per cent of parliamentarians are under 30 years old, and less than 1 per cent of these young MPs are women.
