United Nations Radio

International Youth Day

August 12th is International Youth Day and the start of the International Year of Youth. To mark the occasion young people, representatives of government and UN officials gathered at the United Nations to sing, dance and hear inspiring messages of commitment to include the voices of youth in grappling with global challenges. Gail Walker reports.

Duration:4'40"

And so began the day long celebration.

Addressing the gathering, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed the importance of working with the youth.

Secretary-General: Last week I was in Japan to mark the 65th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was very sad, moving, but also extremely inspiring.

In Hiroshima, I met high school students. They are taking the terrible events that took place in their city and helping to transform them into the legacy of a world free from nuclear weapons.

They spoke with such passion and commitment. Hiroshima's place is not solely in its past -- they told me -- but in its future.

And so they host students from around the globe. They travel the world. They share the stories of what happened in their city 65 years ago to help make sure that it never happens again to anyone, anywhere.

The UN Chief reiterated that it is young people who will inherit the work the UN does today - both its successes and failures.

Secretary-General: I want to make sure that the torch we pass is a torch of peace and a torch of hope, not a torch of burden for them to carry. That's our responsibility, political and moral responsibility.

The Secretary-General also highlighted the challenges today's youth face explaining that many bear the brunt of the global economic crisis.

According to a new report issued by the International Labour Organization, the global youth unemployment rate has reached its highest level on record and is expected to increase through 2010, especially in the developed world. Sara Elder, an economist in the Employment Trends Unit of ILO says in 2009 alone 6.7 million young people joined the ranks of the unemployed.

Elder: To put this in greater perspective, we ran an average of the annual increase in the 10 years prior to the crisis and found that annually approximately 200,000 young persons entered unemployment. So here we are talking now 6.7 million, so the numbers really are very, very striking.

And Elder says in many parts of the world the impact is even more severe for young women.

Secretary-General Ban praised the day's theme of encouraging dialogue and mutual understanding across generations, cultures and religions.

Secretary-General: I urge young people everywhere to look beyond the borders of your own country. Engage with the world. Be a global citizen.

Youth Representative Maya Saood called on world leaders to value the youth as a natural resource.

Saood: Unlike other resources, we do not spark wars and conflicts, we do not create contempt between the haves and the have nots, we do not increase economic inequalities, suffering and devastation. We are the resource that does the very opposite. Utilize the youth for the sake of our collective future. Allow us to create a global environment where dialogue and mutual understanding are preferred over the destructiveness and terror of conflict.