On 12 August the International Year of Youth began and, thanks to your emails and posts on our facebook page, we have learned that the launch of the Year was a huge success with events taking place throughout the world. UN Agencies, both at the country and global level, Inter-Governmental Organizations, National Governments, National Youth Councils as well as civil society organizations organized activities to launch the Year.
At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, a global launch was organized by the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development. The launch event included both inspiring speeches as well as performances from talented young people. About 500 people attended the event which was held in the General Assembly Hall. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, spoke about how the economic crisis has affected many young people, but that young people possess talents and creativity which will enable new and innovative solutions to today's problems. and stated: "I urge young people everywhere to look beyond the borders of your own country. Engage with the world, and be a global citizen. Exchange visits and communication across cultures are all building blocks of world peace and mutual understanding."
The launch event brought an impressive number of 27 Heads of UN entities together in a joint statement committing to make youth a priority in their organization's work. The Heads of UN entities also called on the international community to support their efforts and to recognize the central role of young people in the achievement of internationally agreed development goals and peace and security.
The International Labor Organization (ILO), released the report "Global Employment Trends for Youth" and Jane Stewart, Special Representative and Director for the ILO Office for the United Nations held a moving speech on how the global economic crisis has exposed young people's vulnerability.
In addition to the global launch event at UNHQ, events were organized by a range of stakeholders around the world to celebrate the beginning of the International Year of Youth. A variety of activities took place, ranging from conferences, roundtables, concerts, film festivals, debates, picnics, free guided tours, art exhibitions, various contests, campaigns and programmes. Apart from focusing on the theme of the Year, dialogue and mutual understanding, the events highlighted issues such as youth and climate change, peaceful elections, disarmament, women's leadership, HIV/AIDS, hunger, ICT, sports, youth empowerment and much more.
Selected launch events from around the world
We would like to use this opportunity to highlight a small selection of the activities we have received information on. The Year is off to a good start and we hope that Governments, young people and civil society are committed to embracing all of the opportunities this Year represents.
Sudan: The UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) together with the African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur organized a concert for the youth of Darfur to celebrate the launch of the IYY.
India: On 12 August, The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) New Delhi, in collaboration with Jesus and Mary College (JMC), University of Delhi, launched the 2010-2011 International Year of Youth. JMC Principal Dr. Sister Marina John and UNIC Information Officer Rajiv Chandran together released balloons with the Year's logo and addressed students on the Year's theme.
Thailand: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) launched the IYY by organizing a roundtable discussion between 200 youth representatives and heads of UN Agencies and Government Officials at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok.
Belgium: The three Belgian Youth councils together with the Flemish Support Point Youth, the Belgian EU Presidency Youth, the European Youth Forum, and UN Brussels, UNRIC, launched the International Year of Youth with a sustainable picnic in Brussels on 12 August which attracted around 300 young people.
Trinidad and Tobago: The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs launched a National Youth Month to celebrate the IYY with a variety of youth-related activities taking place throughout the month.
Armenia: On 12 August, the United Nations Office (UNO) Yerevan in collaboration with United Nations Volunteers and the United Nations Development Programme and several other partners, held an award ceremony to winners of a video contest dedicated to the International Year of Youth and launched an NGO Youth Fair at the UN House.
HASDER Youth Club organized an event in celebration of the Year in Cyprus which included discussions among youth organizations representing Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on the theme Dialogue and Mutual Understanding.
Taking It Global (TIG) launched 'Our Year' Worldwide Art Contest for youth aged 13 to 25 under the theme "What are your hopes and dreams for this year? What kind of mark do we want to leave?"
To find more activities taking place throughout the Year and to get inspiration on what you can do in your community, please visit our calendar of events at: www.social.un.org/youthyear or go to our facebook page (www.facebook.com/UNyouthyear) to read more about creative initiatives like some of the ones above. Through the facebook page you can also participate in our consultation "What is your experience with employment opportunities in your community?"
To read the statement from the Secretary-General, please visit: http://social.un.org/youthyear/launch.html
To read the full joint statement by the Heads of 27 UN entities please visit: http://social.un.org/youthyear/docs/iyyjointstatement.pdf
To read the whole ILO report on "Global Employment Trends for Youth", please visit: www.ilo.org/empelm/what/pubs/lang--en/docName--WCMS_143349/index.htm
For more information about the global launch event at the UNHQ, please visit:
http://social.un.org/youthyear/launch.html
For more information on various youth topics, we recommend you to read our fact sheets which are available at: http://social.un.org/youthyear/links.html
No comments:
Post a Comment