On 12 August, we mark International Youth Day 2023. This day highlights the challenges that today’s youth face and celebrates the impact young people make on society. International Youth Day is now more critical than ever with the world’s largest youth generation. Young people now make up 16 per cent of the world’s population.
Do you want to help support International Youth Day 2023? Let’s look at how to celebrate International Youth Day and ways you can support young people around the world.
When is International Youth Day?
International Youth Day 2023 is on Saturday, 12 August.
What is International Youth Day about?
A decade after the United Nations celebrated its first Year of Youth in 1985, a global forum known as the United Nations General Assembly set up the World Programme of Action for Youth. This program outlined a set of policies to improve the lives of young people worldwide. Since 2000, the United Nations has celebrated International Youth Day on 12 August. It is a day to celebrate youth globally, children’s rights, and acknowledge young people’s challenges.
What is the theme for International Youth Day 2023?
This World Youth Day is all about recognising and advocating ‘green skills’ for youth, and working with young people to develop a more sustainable world.
According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, green skills are “knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society”.
Why is International Youth Day important?
International Youth Day 2023 is a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the vital contribution that young people make to our societies. World Youth Day is also a day to ensure youth are listened to on issues that are important to them. International Youth Day 2023 provides a platform for young people to speak.
The day also reminds us that children’s rights need to be upheld, but not all young people get the same opportunities in life. Many youth face significant barriers, including dealing with poverty, and limited access to education and health care. No matter where a young person is from, their voice should be heard.
ChildFund is supporting young people living in developing communities around the world to break down some of these barriers.
In Timor-Leste, Laura, 24, (pictured left), is shaking things up – in a good way – in her community. With the support of ChildFund Timor-Leste, Laura learnt life and leadership skills, which helped her to change her approach to life. “I was the person who lacked the confidence to talk in front of people,” Laura said. “I just stayed at home and helped my parent’s small business at home.
“I felt proud and happy when I joined the Inspiring Youth Changemakers program. It helped to improve my confidence, think outside of the box and get me outside my comfort zone.
“The life skills training helped me to understand how to write a good CV and a cover letter, and attend an interview session. I didn’t know those skills before.”
Another key part of International Youth Day is encouraging young people to get involved. Youth should be included in discussing their adversities and addressing the issues that are important to them.
“I started to think about how a young woman like me could support other young women,” Laura said after participating in ChildFund’s youth program in Timor-Leste. “I learnt what it means to be a good leader and how to advocate for the issues or problems that are faced by children, youth, and adults in my community.”
Undoubtedly, one of the main aspects of International Youth Day is the chance to hear young people’s voices and celebrate their contributions to their communities. Furthermore, it is a chance to address young people’s legal and cultural issues, recognise their abilities, and encourage them to keep speaking up.
How can you help support young people this International Youth Day?
Every child needs a childhood in which they are nurtured, protected and can access opportunities. This International Youth Day, you can set up a monthly donation to ChildFund Australia, which gives children in developing nations ongoing support. These donations can provide more than 1,000 children with better hygiene and health. You also enable a better education for youth and keep them safe and secure.
You could also consider our range ofGifts for Good. These gifts help a family stay safe, healthy, and thriving long-term. With options like blankets and pillows, sheep, cows, mosquito nets and more, these gifts for good go a long way and do a lot for people.
Your support will not only help a young person living in poverty and their entire family, but will also extend the reach of International Youth Day throughout the year.
This generation of young people is the largest in history. Because of this, it is now more important than ever before to make sure youth are fully engaged in social and legal issues. Many young people today must also navigate a number of competing challenges, including rising costs of living, climate change, technological advancements (AI anyone?), inequality and conflict.
When is World Youth Skills Day?
World Youth Skills Day is held on Saturday 15 July 2023.
Why is World Youth Skills Day so important?
World Youth Skills Day is an opportunity to highlight the importance of young people and the skills they bring and can contribute to the world. This includes youth facing disadvantage, including girls and young women, young people with disabilities, young people from poorer households, young indigenous people, young people living in rural communities, and those facing violent conflict and political instability.
World Youth Skills Day aims to break down the barriers that can prevent some young people from accessing work, and to boost productivity and wage levels among youth around the world.
World Youth Skills Day 2023 provides a chance to tackle the cultural and legal issues young people experience, as well as to provide youth with all the skills and training they will need to reach their full potential.
Why we are celebrating World Youth Skills Day!
We are celebrating World Youth Skills Day so young people can have their voices heard and the contributions they are making to the world around them are acknowledged.
How investing in young people can change the world … one community at a time
SreyYorng, 23, (pictured below) is the first person in her village in Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia, to graduate from university and become a midwife.
She said the support of her family and the skills she developed in a youth project run by ChildFund Cambodia and local partners helped her to achieve her goal. “My family’s assistance in helping me complete my studies, along with my experiences with youth groups, are what I believe have contributed to my success,” SreyYorng said.
“I am proud to be the first woman to graduate in midwifery in my village.”
As a participant in ChildFund’s youth project several years ago, SreyYorng learnt life and leadership skills. “The training was essential to me as it provided a foundation for my life,” she said. “It taught us how to manage ourselves, lead, be confident, and accomplish life goals,” she said.
SreyYorng said most of the youth who took part in the project had gone on to have successful careers as medical professionals, private sector employees, and business owners.
“We learnt lessons that helped us find a good path in life,” she said.
“The project has changed my life and the lives of many other young people. It taught us topics that were not able to learn in school or university.”
What is the history of World Youth Skills Day?
On the 15 July 2014, the United Nations General Assembly held its first World Youth Skills Day. This was to be a day celebrating the importance of giving young people the skills they will need for good employment, work, and entrepreneurship.
Ever since this day, World Youth Skills Day has continued to provide a one-of-a-kind, crucial opportunity for young people to communicate with technical and vocational education and training institutions, firms, employee and worker organisations, development partners, and policy makers.
This year, World Youth Skills Day 2023 will take place amid the continued efforts for socio-economic recovery from the global challenges we face. While the world continues to grapple with these challenges, as well as the aftermath of the pandemic, the resilience and determination of young people have paved the way for progress.
Young people connected with their peers, learnt life skills, and explored topics important to them at the 2023 Lao Children’s Forum, supported by ChildFund in Laos.
Why are the global goals for World Youth Skills day so important?
Did you know that the United Nations has 17 targets they aim to address by 2030? Known as the United Nations 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals, or the Global Goals, this global initiative aims to end poverty and help produce sustainable economic, social, and environmental development.
One of the Sustainable Development Goals is Goal 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. Increasing access to affordable and high-quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays an important role during World Youth Skills Day. After all, TVET can promote economic, social, and environmental development by helping young people and adults attain the skills and training they need for good employment, work and entrepreneurship. It can ensure recognition for a youth’s skills, and even provide skill development opportunities for those who are under-employed, unemployed, or for youth not in education, employment or training.
In the face of challenges such as climate change, humanitarian emergencies, and conflicts, it is more critical than ever to empower all young people, irrespective of where they live, to speak up and continue learning so they can reach their full potential.
How can I support World Youth Skills Day 2023?
All young people should have access to the opportunities and training they need to excel in their work, especially our modern, constantly changing one. You can help by sending a donation to the areas it is most needed.
You can also donate monthly to ChildFund this World Youth Skills Day 2023. This way, your support will last long beyond World Youth Skills Day, helping more than 1,000 children in one year to obtain the support that they need to be as safe, healthy, and educated as possible.
