Reflections 2.10

The theme of this year’s International Youth Day -Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future- is a global call to action for young men and women. Our world faces multiple interconnected crises with severe and far-reaching impacts that fall disproportionately on the young.

In 2007, for example, youth comprised 25 per cent of the world’s working age population yet accounted for 40 per cent of the unemployed. The global economic downturn means that, in the near term, youth unemployment will continue to climb. Unemployment rates tell only part of the story, especially for the vast majority of youth who live in developing countries. For them, informal, insecure and low-wage employment is the norm, not the exception. Read the rest of this entry »

In the midst of a series of unprecedented crises affecting the lives of young people all around the world, the theme for this year’s International Youth Day ‘Sustainability: our challenge, our future’ could not be more relevant.

Sustainability refers to three facets of life which are all affected by the current turmoil: the environment, society and the economy. We need urgently to reflect on the challenges they pose for youth. If we do not, their opportunities for development, secure livelihoods and social cohesion will be compromised. Read the rest of this entry »