International Youth Day 2014

International Youth Day will be taking place on 12 August 2014. It will bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrate the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society. This year, the theme will be,

 “Youth and Mental Health” under the slogan ‘Mental Health Matters’.

12 August was designated as International Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999. It is an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, as well as an opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges and hardships facing the world’s youth.

Thematic discussions and information campaigns will take place on 12 August 2014 across the world, to encourage both Member States and the general public to understand the needs of young people, to implement policies to help them overcome the challenges they face, and to help young people into the decision-making process.

Youth is a period of dramatic change, and the journey from childhood to adulthood can be complex, raising a host of mental health issues.

The theme of this International Youth Day is “Youth and Mental Health,” under the motto Mental Health Matters.

"The mental health of young women and men is important for the health of society as a whole."    

IrinaBokova
UNESCODirector-General
International Youth Day 2014

This is an opportunity to raise awareness about the difficulties facing young women and men, including from stigma and discrimination, and to support them so that they can fully achieve their aspirations. 

Guided by an Operational Strategy on Youth (2014-2021), UNESCO focusses on the needs of marginalized young women and men to promote their full integration into society. We work to support school health programmes, as well as informal and non-formal learning, and by mobilizing the power of information and communication technologies. At the wider level, we are committed to promoting inclusive integrated policies on youth, in which all youth voices are meaningfully consulted and engaged. In all this, we seek to provide opportunities for young people to develop the skills and competences necessary to transition to adulthood and to make the most of all opportunities offered by societies that are increasingly diverse and undergoing transformation. 

This requires seeing young women and men not as objects of policy but as agents of change. It calls for action to promote intergenerational understanding and partnership, to strengthen solidarity and to ensure the full integration of all young women and men in society and the economy. In crafting new policies, we need to draw upon lessons learnt and listen to the needs of young people so as to help them overcome the challenges they face. 

The mental health of young women and men is important for the health of society as a whole. They are a wellspring of ideas for innovation and leaders for positive change. We need to support them in every way in order to build with them inclusive, just -- and healthy -- societies.

Source [UNESCO]

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