[news] 30.07.2007
International Youth Day: 12th August 2007
Be seen, Be heard: Youth participation for development


The goal of World Youth Day is to gather together the young people from all over the globe as a reminder of the strength and integrity of our youth. To bring our world youth together as one and to place our trust in them that they will do the right thing in the future to come. On a human level in this time of international problems and strife that we can all come together and unite to form a strong connection and to help bring hope and alleviate fears is a special thing. It is a good initiative to improve the participation of youth in global, national and local affairs and decision making This years commemoration of International Youth Day on 12th August 2007 will have the theme Be seen, Be heard: youth participation for development. Some of the proposals for this are:

1. Improving access to information in order to enable young people to make better use of their opportunities to participate in decision-making

2. Developing and/or strengthening opportunities for young people to learn their rights and responsibilities, promoting their social, political, developmental and environmental participation, removing obstacles that affect their full contribution to society and respecting, inter alia, freedom of association

3. Encouraging increased national, regional and international cooperation and exchange between youth organizations

4. Encouraging and promoting youth associations through financial, educational and technical support and promotion of their activities

5. Inviting Governments to strengthen the involvement of young people in international forums, inter alia, by considering the inclusion of youth representatives in their national delegations to the General Assembly.

To benefit the youth of today by letting them make the decisions for their future and to try and help shape a better outlook and instill a sense of self respect and hope for the next generation, and to carry on the participation of youth through understanding and optimism for a better future.



There are many events to commemorate the day happening all around the globe including a global photo and drawing competition for young people 11-24 called "Shoot Nations" there will be prizes given to 48 winning photographs and they will tour 5 major citys around the world, also they will be displayed at un headquarters on youth day. In Kenya at the Kwale district, there will be activitys to promote the impact of environmental degradation and pollution that will include the cleaning of local beaches, tree planting at the show ground and public education on the environment. There will also be a public forum for the discussion of substance abuse in the district. Other activitys including sports and dancing will also be included. In the Philippines a local roadrunners youth club will have a 10k clean up drive, a 1 day youth exhibits and 3k, 5k and 10k fun runs to celebrate youth day. Also they have plans to make IYD a year round event culminating on 12th of august events.



All this is not just for our youth but also for us to see theyre potential and to understand theyre willingness to make sacrifices and to stand up and be counted in the race for a better world for the coming generations and also for us all. By helping them we are also benefiting everybody by having fresh views and initiatives to think about and implement.
Steven Price; 0 comments
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