International Youth Day being celebrated to highlight role of young people

NEW YORK: International Youth Day is being celebrated on Wednesday to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions.

The theme of this year is “Youth Engagement for Global Action”. International Youth Day gives an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young peoples’ voices, actions and initiatives, as well as meaningful, universal and equitable engagement.

The commemoration this year by United Nations will take the form of a discussion hosted by youth, together with independently organised commemorations around the world that recognise the importance of youth participation in political, economic and social life.

The day also seeks to draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be significantly enhanced.

The UN said trust in public institutions is eroding as only ten years are remaining to make the 2030 Agenda a reality for all. It said the crisis is rooted in the need to strengthen the capacity of the international system to implement solutions to pressing challenges and threats including contemporary conflicts and humanitarian emergencies as well as global challenges such as the COVID-19 outbreak and climate change.

It noted that youth engagement in formal political mechanisms increases the fairness of political processes, contributes to better and more sustainable policies, and also has symbolic importance that can further restore trust in public institutions especially among youth.

It said the vast majority of challenges humanity currently faces, such as the COVID-19 outbreak and climate change require concerted global action and the meaningful engagement and participation of young people to be addressed effectively.

Pakistan has one of the largest populations of young people in the world which has a large impact on human development.  It is currently one of the youngest countries in the world and the second youngest in the South Asian region after Afghanistan, with 64 percent of the population below the age of 30, and 29 percent is between the ages of 15-29 years.