Celebrate or Observe? Collaborate!

12 August is International Youth Day. In 1999, when the world was entering a new millennium United Nations General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers of Youth that ended in Lisbon on 12^th August 1998 that 12 August be declared International Youth Day.

Undoubtedly 21^st Century belongs to youth. Today, young people hold a crucial role in working towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. COVID-19 has been disturbing for youth not only because it is a planetary level crisis but not enough is known about it. Today's youth get restless when they do not know enough about the problem that they would like to contribute to solutions. In such a situation how they can contribute to the 'Decade of Action' declared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations?

Young innovators are struggling to respond to the virus through social impact innovation. Youth driven technology start-ups are supporting supply-chain to deliver vaccines and food. For example, CcHUB (an open living lab and pre-incubation space) in Nigeria is offering to provide financial, research and design support for projects related to COVID-19. But is it enough? Read the capsule of challenges we face:

• The economic impact of COVID-19 is set to make the job market more challenging for youth. The ILO reports that in the first quarter of 2020, about 5.4% of global working hours, which is equivalent to 155 million full-time jobs, were lost relative to the fourth quarter of 2019.
  
• Recent estimates suggest that 600 million jobs would have to be created over the next 15 years to meet youth employment needs.
• The proportion of young people not in employment, education or training has remained stubbornly high over the past 15 years and now stands at 30% for young women and 13% for young men worldwide.

Rajendra Shende

Chairman, TERRE Policy Centre

Former Director, UNEP