Since its adoption by the United Nations General in 1999, International Youth Day is celebrated every year on August 12^th  Assembly in 1999. The day promotes youth perceptive on current crises and celebrates their role in developing innovative solutions.

The importance of youth in safeguarding life

Given that 2 billion additional people are predicted to live on the earth in the next 30 years, many stakeholders have realized that just producing more nutritious food on a more sustainable basis will not guarantee the wellbeing of people and the environment. The 2030 Agenda's goals of poverty reduction, social inclusion, health care, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation are a few examples of other pressing issues that need to be tackled. There is a recognised need for inclusive support systems that ensure youth continue to intensify efforts individually and as a group to restore the earth and safeguard life while incorporating biodiversity in the transformation of food systems.

What's happening this year?

This year's International Youth Day aims to give young people a platform to build on the momentum from the ECOSOC Youth Forum (EYF) in the run-up to the high-level 2021 Food Systems Summit through youth education, involvement, creativity, and entrepreneurial solutions. With the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Major Group for Children and Youth, and other organizations, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) will digitally host International Youth Day this year. This theme builds on the momentum from two side events organized by UN DESA and partners earlier this year on 1) ageism in health and employment and 2) ageism in politics on the margins of the 60th Commission for Social Development and the 11th edition of the United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum, respectively. To commemorate International Youth Day in 2022, DESA will collaborate with the Major Group on Children and Youth (MGCY) to plan a global webinar. Participants worldwide will have the chance to share their perspectives during the webinar on ageism, future generations, and intergenerational fairness. The webinar will include speakers from civil society to promote diversity while guaranteeing age, regional, and gender representation. Youth who are in numerous vulnerable situations at once will receive special consideration. Public institutions will also be asked to provide examples of the initiatives they are taking to foster intergenerational communication and fight ageism on a local, national, or international scale.

How EdUKaid is contributing to the objective

At EdUKaid, our Farm To Feed project has been a significant and scalable contribution to hunger and poor nutrition reductions here in Tanzania. This project goes above and beyond an ordinary school feeding program. This project enables local communities to gain skills and knowledge to develop a sustainable source of food for generations of schoolchildren and generate basic income for schools to meet the basic learning needs of their pupils. Read more about Farm To Feed here!