In Focus: International Youth Day
From leading climate action movements and being at the forefront of social justice movements and playing key roles in COVID-19 response and recovery, young people around the world are always showing us what it means to be a change-maker and demand a more equal world for women and girls around the world.
A greener, more equal and sustainable planet, with young people in the lead
In a statement for International Youth Day, UN Women recognizes the critical efforts of young people around the world in supporting and fostering the health of our planet. Read more ►
A clear example was the recent Generation Equality Forum, where young people spoke out loud and clear about the issues they are passionate about and shared how they are supporting the gender equality agenda.
This year on International Youth Day, 12 August, we are celebrating youth from Africa who are speaking up for climate justice and food security under the theme “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”.
Climate change adaptation actions that can help rural communities in Africa cope with the challenges of the climate crisis and impacts including to reduce agriculture’s contribution towards greenhouse gas emissions must also include the youth agenda.
Work by and for young people is a critical component of raising political ambition to actualize universal agreements on climate change such as the Paris Agreement which sets out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. With the youngest population in the world, huge opportunities exist to engage millions of youths in environmental advocacy.
On International Youth Day, join us in uplifting the voices of youth and celebrating their leadership.
Stories
Videos:
Chido Nyaruwata, women’s rights and climate justice activist from Zimbabwe
Hana Kidane, feminist climate justice champion from Ethiopia
These 20 young activists will inspire you to join the fight
Social media
Youth are leading movements in the world’s most pressing issues, such as climate action and food security. This International Youth Day, join together online to support their visions for the future.
Access the global social media package in Trello and Dropbox (available in multiple languages), featuring motivational animations, stickers, videos and stories.
Engage using the hashtags in the lead up to this day:
ENGLISH | #YouthDay #GenerationEquality
SPANISH | #DíadelaJuventud #GeneraciónIgualdad
FRENCH | #JournéedelaJeunesse #GénérationÉgalité