International Youth Day

A resolution proclaiming August 12 as International Youth Day was adopted during the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in 1998. That recommendation was later endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1999.The Assembly recommended that public information activities be organized to support the Day, as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth. Thus, International Youth Day was first observed in 2000.

The 2015 International Youth Day theme is “Youth Civic Engagement.” It is the main goal of the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Youth (Youth-SWAP) which seeks to promote young people’s effective inclusive civic engagement at all levels. There has been recent increasing attention and policy and programming focus on youth civic engagement by governments, UN entities, regional and multilateral organizations, youth and researchers. But more efforts are needed to raise awareness about the importance of the youth’s engagement and its benefits to the individual and to society.

The objectives of this celebration is to engage both Member States and the general public to understand the needs of young people, to implement policies to help them overcome the challenges they face, to encourage them into the decision-making process, and to promote their participation to politics and public life, so that they can be empowered and contribute to society, development and peace.