International Youth Day 2012 Google + Hangouts
Baku, August 11 (AZERTAC). Each year, International Youth Day takes place on August 12th. The day was declared by the United Nations in 1999 to raise awareness of situations facing young people around the world and to promote programs and organizations that work to support youth.
“We need a top-to-bottom review so our programmes and policies are working with and for young people. We don’t have a moment to lose. We have the world to gain. To unleash the power of young people, we need to partner with them,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this year.
Many activities are currently underway to involve young people, including six live Google+ Hangouts in the lead up to International Youth Day on 12 August.
This year’s theme is “Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth”, relating to an announcement the Secretary-General made in January, where he committed to “address the needs of the largest generation of young people the world has ever known”. Ban Ki-moon also revealed the development of a System-Wide Action Plan (SWAP) on Youth as well as the appointment of a Special Advisor on Youth and a UN Youth Volunteers Programme. Five thematic areas were highlighted in developing these initiatives: employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship and protection of rights, and education, including on sexual and reproductive health.
Each year on 12 August, International Youth Day (IYD) is assigned a theme; a conceptual slogan that communicates the scope, direction, and objectives of the year’s youth initiatives and that also provides a unifying banner from under which individuals can draw the inspiration to take action. The theme chosen for International Youth Day 2012 - Building a Better World: Partnering with Youth - is a global call to action for young men and women, as well as other stakeholders around the world, to develop and engage in partnerships with and for youth towards building a better world.
International Youth Day 2012 provides an important opportunity to build upon the priorities of the Secretary-General’s Action Agenda, as well as to respond to calls from youth organizations and UN Member States around the world to strengthen mechanisms for partnerships with young people by exploring various and innovative ways that the United Nations, Member States, civil society, the private sector, academia and philanthropists effectively partner and collaborate with young people, especially in the areas of employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, citizenship and protection of rights, and education, including on sexual and reproductive health.
International Youth Day 2012 aims to highlight good practices in developing and expanding successful partnerships with young people, and to put forward concrete recommendations on how the United Nations and stakeholders around the world can build and enhance partnerships with youth.
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