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UN Youth 2030 Strategy and Progress Report 2021

The world today is home to the largest generation of young people in history, 1.8 billion.

Close to 90 per cent of them live in developing countries, where they constitute a large proportion of the population. Connected to each other like never before, young people want to and already contribute to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring political change, in urban as well as rural contexts. Young people constitute a tremendous and essential asset worth investing in, opening the door to an unparalleled multiplier effect.

At the same time, young people are also facing incredible challenges and even life-threatening risks, disproportionately carried by girls and young women in many parts of the world. These arise when accessing their rights, including to quality education, healthcare or decent work. They also arise in situations of conflict, or when young .

  • Noting that there is no universally agreed international definition of youth and while recognizing that the UN Secretariat for statistical purposes defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, this Strategy considers other definitions in use by Agencies, Programmes and/or Member States without prejudice.

Young people also suffer interpersonal violence, are affected by the slow onsets of climate change or frontline impacts of disasters. They experience intersecting forms of marginalization, and struggle with the brunt of a global erosion of human rights and impeded access to justice.

The UN is committed to strengthening its capacity to meet new demands and deliver more effectively with and for young people, in line with the ongoing UN Reforms. To do so, the UN must intensify its evidence-based advocacy, policy engagement, partnership and programme efforts to strengthen international, regional and national commitments to prioritize, invest in, engage and empower young people. In this regard, the UN will leverage both existing and forthcoming system-wide initiatives51and step up its efforts in the interconnected priority areas outlined below, which will be operationalized and further substantiated through the Strategy’s action plan.

  • FIRST PRIORITY: Engagement, Participation and Advocacy - Amplify youth voices for the promotion of a peaceful, just and sustainable world
  • SECOND PRIORITY: Informed and Healthy Foundations - Support young people’s greater access to quality education and health services
  • THIRD PRIORITY: Economic Empowerment through Decent Work - Support young people’s greater access to decent work and productive employment
  • FOURTH PRIORITY: Youth and Human Rights – Protect and promote the rights of young people and support their civic and political engagement
  • FIFTH PRIORITY: Peace and Resilience Building – Support young people as catalysts for Peace and Security & Humanitarian Action

The ownership of the UN Youth Strategy is equally shared by all members of the UN system at the global, regional and national levels. The Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth will be the public face of the UN Youth Strategy and will lead global advocacy efforts and its High-Level Steering Committee in support of its successful implementation.

Youth2030: Progress Report 2021 is the first report on the implementation of the United Nations Youth Strategy, “Youth2030: working with and for young people”. Drawing on data submitted by 33 United Nations entities and all 130 United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs), the report provides information and insight on the status of youth-related activities to achieve the goals of the Youth Strategy across the United Nations system.*Launched by the Secretary-General in 2018, Youth2030 is a common framework for the UN system in working with UN Youth2030 Strategy and for youth across the human rights, peace and security, and development pillars and in all its humanitarian endeavours.

As shown in the present report, the global implementation of the strategy is gaining momentum: over the past two years, including during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, UN entities have continued to put the UN Youth Strategy into action, accelerating its implementation at the speed and scale required to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the General Assembly in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Further reading from UNCCD Library on: 📚   youth  ; 📚   youth unemployment  ; 📚   youth and agriculture 

land and youth ;Webinars on land-based jobs for youth ; UNCCD Land Heroes ; 

Young people can play a significant role in combating desertification if they harness the relevant knowledge, science and technology for their land restoration endeavors. Youth-oriented programmes should be inclusive, not limited to academia or young professionals but extended to young farmers and entrepreneurs, indigenous and vulnerable groups, such as young people with disabilities. Agro eco-tourism and other innovative approaches could bring young job seekers back to their communities, giving them an opportunity to create sustainable livelihoods while addressing the impacts of climate change, depletion of natural resources, waste disposal and land degradation. UNCCD is working to mobilize the youth to take care of land while creating a sustainable future for all.

Creating opportunities for rural youth remains a particular challenge. Countries have a critical choice to make: create employment opportunities, especially in rural areas, and reap the demographic dividends of a young vibrant workforce or face the social unrest and political instability that high rates of youth unemployment may bring. 

Sign up for UNCCD next webinar:  Building your business and seizing opportunities  

Thursday, 6 May 2021    07:00 to 08:15 UTC

Register here and interpretation is available in English, Arabic, Chinese and Russian

Speakers:
Mr. Shameek Chakravarty - Founder and CEO at Farmizen
Mr. Mincheol Jeong - Founder and Director of Tree Planet

youth

   webinar youth