YOUTH YOUTH "Let us acknowledge and celebrate what youth can do to build a safer, more just world. Let us strengthen our efforts to include young people in policies, programmes and decision-making processes that benefit their futures and ours.” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon International Youth Day, 12 August 2010 The UN defines youth as people between the ages of 15 and 24 years Youth number 1.2 billion . . .or 18 per cent of the world’s population Currently, 62 per cent of youth live in Asia. . .the next largest proportion, 17 per cent, live in Africa In 1985, to improve the situation of young people globally, the General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond was adopted by the GA in 1995 The UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development coordinates activities of the UN system Investing in youth is smart economics and crucial for development Investment must begin during early childhood and adolescence, when life-long patterns of behaviour begin UN agencies analyze the state of children and youth EMPLOYMENT is one of its priority areas of work Comprising 25 % of the working age population, youth accounted for 40 % of the world's unemployed In 2009 about 81 million young people were unemployed . . . the highest number ever FAO’s Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools programme in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Hunger and Poverty 64 per cent of African and 84 per cent of Asian youth live in countries where 1/3rd of the population survive on less than $2-a-day School Meals have become a safety net for the poor EDUCATION is a challenge for young people in developing countries In Africa more than 25 per cent of the continent’s youth are illiterate UNICEF-supported “Go to School Initiative” quadrupled the number of school enrolments from 2002 to 2009 in Southern Sudan Girls and young women face special challenges Measures to protect them from forced marriages, trafficking and sexual abuse are inadequate In Armed Conflicts girls and women are disproportionately targeted In 2008, few girls and women participated inthe Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration programmes, fearing stigmatization For the last two decades, the UN has been at the forefront of efforts to protect children and youth in armed conflict AIDS is one of the most formidable challenges to the world Among youth infected with the HIV virus, 80%, or 4 million people, live in sub-Saharan Africa—70% are female The United Nations supports youth in combating Climate Change . . .through educational programmes, adaptation initiatives . and participation “More than any other generation, you have a voice... You understand the power of instant communication. I appeal to you to use that power for the common good”. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Model UN Conference, 13 May 2010