Humanity depends on the boundless energy, ideas and contributions of youth everywhere. Today and every day, let’s support and stand with young people in shaping a just and sustainable world, for people and planet. "
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
2023 Theme
Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World
Today, the world is embarking on a green transition. The shift towards an environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly world is critical not only for responding to the global climate crisis but also for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A successful transition towards a greener world will depend on the development of green skills in the population. Green skills are “knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society”.
These include technical knowledge and skills that enable the effective use of green technologies and processes in occupational settings, as well as transversal skills that draw on a range of knowledge, values and attitudes to facilitate environmentally sustainable decisions in work and in life. Due to their interdisciplinary nature, the essence of green skills is sometimes expressed, partly if not wholly, through other associated terms such as “skills for the future” and “skills for green jobs”. While green skills are relevant for people of all ages, they have heightened importance for younger people, who can contribute to the green transition for a longer period of time.
International Youth Day 2023
Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World
2023 Commemoration
For the official commemoration of International Youth Day 2023, DESA organizes a global webinar in collaboration with the UN Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth and Generation Unlimited. The webinar offers critical information and data, and promotes discussions, as well as an exchange of ideas on green skills for youth. It features perspectives from international organizations, national governments and young experts working in this area. Knowledge products are developed to support and encourage stakeholders to celebrate International Youth Day 2023 in their various contexts and roles.
Office for Youth and Women
On the occasion of the 2023 International Youth Day, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Qu Dongyu, announced that FAO is planning to establish a new Office for Youth and Women, to strengthen institutional coordination, overall planning and service work, paving the way for future development.
2023 related events
This year, the International Day of Peace Youth event is livestreamed via UN Web TV and UN YouTube on 14 September from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST. The event provides a platform for young people to showcase the actions they have taken, or commit to an action they will take in their schools and communities to help accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs and thereby fostering peace.
Celebrating Ways #YouthLead
Follow along at @UNYouthEnvoy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Creating your own #YouthLead content and sharing some of our key messages — which are all available in the campaign communications toolkit.
Young people can participate in the takeover via public submission (beginning 22 July; link to be available in the master Trello board) or partner nomination.
Please visit the UN Youth Envoy website to learn more about the campaign.
Did you know?
- Half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030.
- Survey shows that 67% of people believe in a better future, with 15 to 17 year-olds being the most optimistic about this.
- The majority of people agree that the age balance in politics is wrong. More than two thirds (69%) of people across all age groups agree that more opportunities for younger people to have a say in policy development/change would make political systems better.
- Globally, only 2.6% of parliamentarians are under 30 years old, and less than 1% of these young MPs are women.
Campaign Materials
- International Youth Day 2023 Infographic: 5 Things To Know About Green Skills For Youth. Download PDF version here.
- For those interested in organizing activities to celebrate 2023 IYD, logos in all 6 UN languages, both with and without the United Nations name are available here.
Please note, logos with the UN name may only be used by UN Entities. Member States, youth organizations, and other non-UN entities need to use the IYD logos without the UN name.
Related Observances
- International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February)
- World Day Against Child Labour (12 June)
- World Youth Skills Day (15 July)
- International Day of the Girl Child (11 October)
- World Children's Day (20 November)
- International Year of Youth (2010)
- International Youth Year: Participation, Development and Peace (1985)
