Today marks the annual celebration of International Youth Day. It is an international day of awareness, recognizing youth across the globe and empowering the world’s youth to make positive contributions to their communities and nations.
International Youth Day is not to be confused with World Youth Day. World Youth Day was founded by Pope John Paul II in 1986 as an invitation for youth to respond to the call to bring the love of Christ to the world. World Youth Day is celebrated each year on Palm Sunday.
International Youth Day is a United Nations supported celebration, while World Youth Day is a celebration founded within the Catholic tradition. Though technically different celebrations, both International Youth Day and World Youth Day recognize the value of young people across the world.
The United Nations (UN) celebrated the first ever International Year of Youth in 1985. A decade later, the UN General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), a set of policies and guidelines for nations to look to in improving the situation of the world’s youth. However, it was not until 2000 that the world celebrated the first International Youth Day.
The values and celebrations of International Youth Day are heavily influenced by the core principles of the WPAY.
The World Programme of Action for Youth is a strategic framework of policies and guidelines to guide nations in supporting, empowering, and improving the conditions of young people. The focus of the WPAY is to encourage national actions to improve the number of quality opportunities for youth, ultimately encouraging them to be active and effective participants in society.
The program also encourages youth around the world to gather and create awareness about the realities young people face within their own nation.
The world currently holds the largest generation of youth in history. Young people represent hope for the future. However, they are more than just that.
In a message about International Youth Day, Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, writes, “Young people are not only our future—they are our present…They are the most connected, the most outspoken and the most open-minded generation the world has ever seen.”
Apprenticemkers focusses on educating people who will be or are managing apprentices. We value the contributions apprentices can make to a business and the wider community, so we offer workshops and on;line courses to help people make the most of the apprentices who work for them.
Find out more here: https://apprenticemakers.co.uk/
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