Special
issue on International Year of Youth
ICYO
– Youth
Information Newsletter
Indian
Committee of Youth Organizations
Platform
of 400 Youth Organizations in India
India’s
largest network of urban and rural youth
12
August 2010
– 12 12 August 2011
DIALOGUE
AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING
This year’s International Youth Day
is a particularly important day for youth around the world. In December 2009,
the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution
A/RES/64/134proclaiming the Year commencing this
International Youth Day (12 August 2010) as the International Year of
Youth.
In line with the
theme for the International Year, the theme for this year’s International
Youth Day is “Dialogue and Mutual
Understanding”. The choice of theme
reflects the General Assembly’s appreciation of the value of dialogue among
youth from different cultures as well as among different
generations.
International Youth Day will be
celebrated at United Nations headquarters in New York with the global launch
event of the International Year of Youth. The event will be a celebration of
young peoples’ energy, imagination and initiatives and will recognize their
crucial contributions to enhancing peace and development. The event is an
opportunity for the international community and the UN system to demonstrate
their commitment to young people. But it will also be a fun occasion with
musical guests and performances. A photo exhibit entitled “Visual Voices –
Youth perspectives on Global Issues” will be inaugurated in the UN visitors
lobby. The exhibit will be open to the public until early
September.
In addition to the
global launch event at UN Headquarters, there will be celebrations all over
the world, which will highlight opportunities and challenges for youth
throughout the International Year of Youth in different regions and
countries.
Join in the
festivities and celebrate the International Youth Day and the International
Youth Year with other young people from around the globe!
THIS
IS YOUR DAY AND YOUR YEAR!
To guide the
celebrations of the International Year of Youth, the United Nations has
developed the Framework Approach highlighting three key objectives for the
Year, namely: increased commitment and investment in youth, increased youth
participation and partnerships, and increased intercultural understanding
among youth. Use these objectives to guide your activities related to youth.
The complete Framework Approach is available athttp://social.un.org/youthyear/
Background of
International Youth Day
Think about what you can do in you
community and how you can effectively spread the message. Make it fun and
relatable and use all your channels to spread the message. Think
Facebook, Twitter, university newsletters, local
newspapers.
As the clock ticks by with only a
few days until the much anticipated launch of the International Year of Youth on 12
August, it is important to recognize that because of young people’s
positive contributions to society, the international community has increased
recognition of the significance of youth populations in advancing development.
And, through that shift in consciousness, we find ourselves celebrating a year
dedicated to addressing youth development with focused attention. As we
acknowledge young people as the impetus to this historical event, we cannot
help but be inspired by their efforts to jump start the Year with enthusiasm
and sustain momentum over the next 12
months.
The upsurge in recent years of the
number of youth-led organizations is a testament to the fact that today’s
young people are dedicated social activists possessing sophisticated skills
and effectively mobilizing for collective action despite the multi-faceted
challenges they confront.
As the focal point on youth for
the UN system, the United Nations Programme on Youth has the
unique vantage point of organizing, participating in and tracking
youth-related efforts taking place in every corner of the world. Every
day, we learn about initiatives young people are conceptualizing and
implementing – often with profound creativity and compassion – which adds
great value to and inspires our own
work.
Raise Awareness: Share your
knowledge on the significance of youth
development
When thinking about how to take
action to celebrate the Year, remember that a lack of resources need not
thwart your efforts. Inexpensive activities can render huge success in
raising public awareness, which is a priceless endeavour in
itself. Consider the multiplier effect when more people are informed and
sensitized to issues of social concern. New ideas and information
travels from school yards and community centres to board rooms,
chambers of Government, to the podium in the General Assembly Hall.
Dialogue first exchanged in your local community can lead to better
informed and more targeted laws, policies and programmes for the
greater good of the global
community.
Identify your talent:
Activate your talent for social change
All young people possess unique
talents that they may utilize to develop creative activities to
raise awareness on issues affecting them and their communities. Talent can be
so much more than one might think, and it is sometimes hard to know what
talent one possesses. This Year yields an excellent opportunity to find and
identify our inner talents by taking action to raise awareness and to
contribute something positive to our society. It is when you work together
with others to change or improve something in your community that you have a
chance to find out what your talents are. Perhaps, you speak several
languages, have artistic abilities, are an excellent communicator, are a
natural leader, an effective mediator, possesses project management skills
including accounting skills, are good at identifying problems and targeted
solutions or motivating and mobilizing others. The list can be quite
long.
Youth inspire us everyday and we
would like to share with you some innovative initiatives we recently learned
about. We hope they will also serve as sources of inspiration for you to
celebrate the International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual
Understanding.
Messages on occasion of
International Youth Day:
From:
Mr. Ban Ki-moon,
Secretary General of United Nations
(UN)
This year's commemoration of
International Youth Day also marks the launch of the International Year of
Youth, under the theme "Dialogue and Mutual
Understanding".
Today's challenging social and
economic environment warrant a special focus on youth.
Eighty-seven per cent of people aged 15 to 24 live in developing countries.
The global economic crisis has had a disproportionate impact on young people;
they have lost jobs, struggled to find even low-wage employment and seen
access to education curtailed. As economies slowly begin to stabilize, the
needs of young people should be paramount.
This is a moral imperative and
a developmental necessity. But it is also an opportunity: the energy of youth
can ignite faltering economies. I am regularly inspired by the good will,
talent and idealism of the young people I meet across the world. They are
making important contributions to our work to eradicate poverty, contain the
spread of disease, combat climate change and achieve the Millennium
Development Goals. I call on Member States to increase their investments in
young people so they can do even more.
During the International Year, the
United Nations and its youth organization partners will focus on the need to
encourage dialogue and understanding across generations, cultures and
religions. In a world in which different peoples and traditions are coming
into closer, more frequent contact than ever before, it is crucial that young
people learn how to listen intently, empathize with others, acknowledge
divergent opinions, and be able to resolve conflicts. Few endeavors are more
important than nurturing these skills, and educating young people about human
rights, for in them we not only see the next generation of leaders, but also
crucial stakeholders of today. Let us also recognize that older generations
themselves stand to learn a great deal from the experiences and
examples of young people as they come of age in a world of accelerating
interconnectedness.
As we launch this International
Year, 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.
********************************
Message
from:
Mrs. Irina
Bokova,
Director-General of
UNESCO
Today
marks the launch of the UN International Year of Youth centred on
the theme of dialogue and mutual understanding. It has been 25 years - more
than one generation - since the UN dedicated a special year to youth. A force
of 1.2 billion between ages 15 and 24, young people have the
energy and motivation to propose innovative solutions to today's global
challenges and the aspiration and tools to build bridges of dialogue across
cultures.
This Year aims to raise
awareness about young people's contribution to society, to help them address
the challenges they face and encourage them to participate in development
initiatives, from community to global
level.
We have to open more spaces
and opportunities to nurture civic engagement and enable youth to participate
in shaping their future. Five years away from the 2015 target date for
achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it is more important than ever to
encourage young people to dedicate themselves to achieving a more just and
sustainable world.
Our goal is to harness the
potential of youth as partners for development and peace. The UNESCO Youth
Forum, held since 1999, is now an integral part of all sessions of the UNESCO
General Conference, the Organization's highest decision-making body. The Forum
gives young people from all Member States the opportunity to learn about
UNESCO's programmes and be more
actively engaged in tangible action in their respective countries. The 2011
UNESCO Youth Forum will provide space for all UN agencies and other partners
to report on their activities carried out during International Youth Year and
chart a future course of action.
Public investment in youth
provides lasting dividends for all society. The global economic and financial
crisis has made the world more insecure for young people, especially for those
from vulnerable or marginalized groups. Youth policies that promote equity and
directly engage with young people must be strengthened. Development assistance
policies should be better geared to address youth's needs and
concerns.
UNESCO is committed to
empowering youth and ensuring that their voices are heard. We are currently
co-chairing the United Nations Interagency Network on Youth Development, which
was formally set up in February 2010 at UNESCO Headquarters. The establishment
of this network marks an important step towards better coordinating our
knowledge, reflections and actions on youth, in order to improve the impact of
our work. The Organization will reinforce support to Member- States in
developing effective policies and programmes affecting youth,
running from access to quality educational opportunities, the empowerment of
young women and partnerships for HIV and AIDS prevention to the promotion of
cultural diversity, measures to address youth violence, and sports for
development and peace.
By recognizing the manifold
contributions that youth can make in promoting mutual understanding, the
International Year of Youth embraces UNESCO's vision of "building peace in the
minds of people" and aligns with the objective of the International Year for
the approchement of Cultures, which UNESCO is
leading.
Young people must be given
opportunities to participate as respected partners in decision-making and
action at all levels. It is in everyone's interest to empower youth with the
skills they need to build more sustainable future. I call upon governments and
the international community to act hand in hand with youth, and encourage
young people from across the world to seize the opportunity this Year offers
to network, share ideas and launch initiatives that promote peace, mutual
understanding and development for all.
------------------------------------------
Youth Information is published
by
Indian
Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)
194-A,
Arjun Nagar, Safdarjang
Enclave
New
Delhi 110029, India
Phone:
91 9811729093 / 91 11 26183978 Fax 91 11 26198423
Email: icyo...@gmail.com /
ic...@icyo-india.org
Web:
www.icyo.in / www.icyo-india.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Indian Committee
of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is a registered non-profit, non-governmental
network organization, committed in developing areas of mutual cooperation and
understanding among different youth voluntary agencies, youth groups, clubs
and individuals working in the field of youth welfare in India.
ICYO functions as an umbrella
organization of youth NGOs in India. It's family consists of
over 389 organizations spread in 124 districts of 26 states from different
corners of India.
Our
goal:
To improve and extend the youth
work and services through Youth Organizations;
To enhance and demonstrate
youth work in the society;
To promote effective youth
programmme;
To organize network of civil society organizations
working towards the development of youth work;
To organize seminars,
conferences, workshops, trainings;
To maintain international relation with
organizations promoting young people in their programme and
activities
Affiliation:
Consultative
(Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
Consultative Status with
Commission on Sustainable Development;
Full Member of World Assembly of
Youth (WAY); Asian Youth Council (AYC);
Member of CRIN;
Member of South
Asia Youth Environment Network (SAYEN);
Affiliate
with ECPAT International, Thailand;
Member of ATSECE-DELHI;
Indian
Partner of AIDS Care Watch Campaign;
Working relation with Indian
Association of Parliamentarians (IAPPD);
Working relation with
International Medical Parliamentarians Organizations (IMPO);
Working
relation with Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development
(AFPPD).
