From leading climate action movements and being at the forefront of social justice movements and playing key roles in COVID-19 response and recovery, young people around the world are always showing us what it means to be a change-maker and demand a more equal world for women and girls around the world.
A clear example was the recent Generation Equality Forum, where young people spoke out loud and clear about the issues they are passionate about and shared how they are supporting the gender equality agenda.
This year on International Youth Day, 12 August, we’re celebrating youth around the world who are speaking up for climate justice and food security under the theme “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”.
With the world’s population expected to increase by 2 billion people in the next 30 years, just producing a larger volume of healthier food more sustainably will not ensure human and planetary wellbeing. Globally, women have a 27 per cent higher risk than men of facing severe food insecurity and therefore require heightened attention and resources. Now is the time to address the interlinking challenges of gender inequality, poverty reduction, social inclusion, health care, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Youth have been, and will continue to be a part of the conversations and action to restore the planet and integrating biodiversity in the transformation of food systems, and therefore will also remain closely engaged in the implementation work of the Action Coalitions that were launched during the Generation Equality Forum.
On International Youth Day, join us in uplifting the voices of youth and celebrating their leadership.
UN Women Statement
A greener, more equal and sustainable planet, with young people in the lead
In a statement for International Youth Day, UN Women recognises the critical efforts of young people around the world in supporting and fostering the health of our planet. Read more>
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Social Media
Youth are leading movements in the world’s most pressing issues, such as climate action and food security. This International Youth Day, join together online to support their visions for the future.
Access our social media package in Trello and Dropbox (available in multiple languages), featuring motivational animations, stickers, videos and stories.
Engage using the hashtags in the lead up to this day:
ENGLISH | #YouthDay #GenerationEquality
SPANISH | #DíadelaJuventud #GeneraciónIgualdad
FRENCH | #JournéedelaJeunesse #GénérationÉgalité