1.8 billion young people, the largest generation of youth in history, are transitioning to adulthood. Their education and opportunities will shape the future of the world. Today’s young generations are still bearing the scars of a global financial crisis and enduring the impacts of an entrenched and inherited climate crisis. They are coming of age during a pandemic on a scale not seen in generations, which has pushed more than 1.5 billion students and youth out of schools and universities due to lockdowns. Paradoxically, they are the most prepared and highly entrepreneurial generation.
Youth
For International Youth Day, UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, calls for a world where everyone at any age has rights, choices and opportunities to fulfill their potential and promise.
The WIPO Photography Prize encourages Indigenous and local community youth to express themselves on climate change and climate action – while raising their awareness on how copyright can be used to protect their creativity expressed in the photographs. Among the hundreds of applications received, Joanderson Gomes de Almeida, 30, an indigenous Pankararu from Brazil was chosen as the first place winner of the competition. His photograph shows a tradition called the Pulling of the Vine, which helps to predict whether the coming year will be one of good harvests, abundance and good rains.
As we approach 2030, developing digital skills has become critical to professional success. While young people are often considered “digital natives", the majority of them may not actually possess sufficient job-relevant digital skills to fill vacancies.
World Youth Skills Day 2022 (15 July) takes place amid efforts towards a socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, interconnected with challenges such as climate change, conflict, persisting poverty, rising inequality, rapid technological change, demographic transition and others. This year’s observation highlights the ongoing focus on the Transforming Education Summit and contribute to the work being done under its Thematic Action Track “Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development”. Register to participate the global event!
"The war [in the Ukraine] is affecting the sustainable development of every single country in our region [...] The war was used as a pretext to walk back on certain already feeble commitments in terms of climate."
Vladislav Kaim is dedicated to protecting the environment. A member of the UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, he promotes green jobs, the energy transition, and generous climate finance - urgent priorities for our rapidly warming world. Yet the war in Ukraine has blown apart regional and global networks working towards a livable future. As a Moldovan, Vladislav Kaim has seen how the devastating war in Ukraine has affected the region and turned people's attention away from the climate emergency. In this episode, he reflects on the effect of the war on long-term climate action, and on his fears for loved ones in the region.
Photo: ©Vladislav Kaim
The Summit in Kigali, Rwanda (2-4 June) addresses the digital divide and related topics, including digital skills, gender, climate change, online safety, the future of work, and more.
Thirty years ago, the Earth Summit, which took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, paved the way for the establishment of three major conventions on the environment - specifically on biodiversity, climate change and desertification. As countries meet on all three conventions in 2022, SDG Advocate and indigenous rights activist Hindou Ibrahim talks about the indispensable role that indigenous communities around the world play in protecting life on our planet - its biodiversity, land and climate.
19 April 2022 - Youth activism has been “pushing the world forward,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told Day 1 of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)’s annual Youth Forum on Tuesday.
Climate activist Ashley Lashley leads a movement called the HEY (Health and Environment-friendly Youth) Campaign - where she works with young people across the Caribbean to help to foster sustainable lifestyles and understand the impacts of climate change on our health - and the health of our planet. "I believe that the wealth of our nation depends on the health of our environment, and our people,” says the 22-year-old, who became a UNICEF Youth Advocate, to promote social development issues, such as health and the environment, among children and young people.
ITU Podcasts with Luke Cavanaugh and Prince Zain El-Hashemite.
In the light of the worldwide changes initiated by the pandemic, this second episode discusses the potential future developments of our educational systems, through the eyes of the youth, with Luke Cavanaugh of the Generation Connect Visionaries Board, and Prince Zain, founder of the Y4X Movement, sharing their personal academic experiences that help shape their vision of a future of education with youth and for youth.
Hosted by Arissandra Egorova
José Quisocala, set up a bank for social change in Peru at a tender age. Nine years on he is proud of his achievements, in seeking to impact society, especially the youth.
This latest edition of ITU News Magazine presents ITU’s Youth Strategy to drive inclusive empowerment, engage young leaders and help them participate alongside today’s digital leaders.
WIPO is pioneering a Young Experts Program to train the next generation of global Intellectual Property (IP) leaders to help build innovation ecosystems around the world.
