International youth day 2002

International Youth Day,12 August 2002

International Youth Day 2002

Message of the Secretary-General on International Youth Day 2002

The General Assembly on 17 December 1999 in its resolution 54/120, endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (>>) (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) that 12 August be declared "International Youth Day".

The Assembly recommended that public information activities be organized to support the Day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, adopted by the General Assembly in 1995 (resolution 50/81).

The theme of the year 2002 observance of International Youth Day "Now and for the Future: Youth Action for Sustainable Development" focuses on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (>>)to be held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002.

Youth are one of nine major groups that participated in the multi-stakeholder dialogue in the preparatory committees leading up to the Johannesburg Summit. The involvement of youth in environment and development decision-making as well as in the implementation of programmes is critical to the long-term success of Agenda 21, a landmark achievement in integrating environmental, economic and social concerns into a single policy framework.

Panel Discussion at UN Headquarters

To commemorate International Youth Day, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) the Department of Public Information (DPI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are jointly organizing a panel discussion on "Now and for the Future: Youth Action for Sustainable Development".

Panel members include Mr. Nitin Desai, Under Secretary-General for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Stephen Commins, Social Policy Specialist, Human Development Network, World Bank will also be present. We will also have at least two young people on the panel , including Ms Yvonne Maingey an active youth participant at the Children's Conference on the Environment recently held in Canada. the results of which she will be presenting in Johannesburg. She also features on a TV programme in Nairobi. The other youth panel member is Ms Ghazal Badiozamani who is 25 years old and is directly involved with youth and the drafting of the outcome document of WSSD. She currently works in DSD. Mr Paul Hoeffel of DPI will be the moderator.

The panel will be held in the auditorium of the Dag Hammarskjöld Library from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

For more information:
World Summit for Sustainable Development
International Youth Day 2001
First Observance of International Youth Day 2000
First World Conference of Ministers