By Devonne Cornelius
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has joined the international community in commemoration of International Youth Day.
Ms. Dorothy Warner, Secretary General of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO, delivered a message from the Director-General of UNESCO Ms. Audrey Azoulay.
“As contemporary challenges fall primarily on the shoulders of future generations, now more than ever, UNESCO is striving to be the organization for young people. We are working with our Member States to support youth in the areas of our mandate. This is essential work at a time when only one out of every two young people in the world considers their mental well-being as satisfactory. Young people are at the heart of UNESCO’s action in education. We are mobilizing so that we not only think but also protect our action, particularly n response to the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on our youth.
Our Futures of Education report published last December will feed into the United Nations transforming education summit to be held in New York in September. This is a much-anticipated opportunity as demonstrated by the convening of more than 150 Ministers of Education at UNESCO in June at the Transforming Education Pre Summit.”
UNESCO’s Futures of Education initiative aims to rethink education and shape the future. The initiative is catalyzing a global debate on how knowledge, education, and learning need to be reimagined in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and precarity.
“Whether it is the dynamism of young researchers in all fields of science or the commitment of young people in the service of heritage and in the biosphere reserves or their mobilization against racism and discrimination, UNESCO places the concerns, creativity, and innovative strength of young people at the heart of its program and its reflection.”
UNESCO is calling on society to mobilize support for young people to grab opportunities that would shape their dreams in an effort to create a better future for all.
International Youth Day takes place on August 12 every year, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society.
August 12 was first designated International Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999 and serves as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.
Thematic discussions and information campaigns take place across the world, to engage both Member States and the general public to understand the needs of young people, implement policies to help them overcome the challenges they face, and to encourage young people in the decision-making process.
