International Youth Day – August 12th

On August 12, 2006, the United Nations (UN) will celebrate International Youth Day. The UN defines a youth as someone who is 15-24 years old. [Source]

More than 200 million young people (18 per cent of all youth) live on less than one dollar a day. These youth have limited access to water, health care and education and are not provided with opportunities to escape the poverty that they are born into. Furthermore, extreme poverty often increases vulnerability to deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, a disease that 10 million youth are currently living with. [Source]

Around the world, 113 million children are not in school and 130 million are illiterate. Education is seen as the primary solution to poverty, as it can provide young people with valuable skills that are needed to get jobs, but poverty still remains a barrier to accessing education. [Source]

The theme of International Youth Day for 2006 is “Tackling Poverty Together,” and the emphasis is on reducing the number of young people that are living in poverty. International Youth Day was first observed in 2000 and was created as a day to empower youth and encourage them to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives. The UN has asked governments to increase efforts to protect and invest in youth so that they are provided with more opportunities. [Source]

 

Take Action

Free The Children embraces the idea that while youth are the leaders of tomorrow they are also the leaders of today. There are many ways that you can get involved and take action to help reduce youth poverty. One way to get involved is through our Adopt a Village schoolbuilding and alternative income campaigns. These campaigns provide educational resources for young people in developing countries and provide sustainable sources of income for their families so parents can afford to send their children to school.

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