International Youth Year 1985: participation, development, peace.

International Youth Year 1985: Participation, Development, Peace

Nearly one fifth of the earth's residents are young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Their numbers have already have already reached 922 million and are expected to pass 1 billion by 1990. Yet, until recently, y outh have been among the world's most neglected groups. International Youth Year (1985) is intended to change all that.

"Youth constitutes a global resource of the first magnitude", Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar declared in a message launching the Youth Year. "They have available a wealth knowledge which, if wisely applied, can create a world of unprecedented well-being. I hope that this will be their commitment in this specially designated Year."

Romania in 1977 spearheaded the initiative to proclaim an International Youth Year. After three years' deliberations in the Third Committee, the General Assembly on 17 December 1979 in resolution 34/151 decided to designate 1985 as the International Youth Year which, it stated, would offer a "useful and significant opportunity for drawing attention to the situation, needs and aspirations of youth".

The main objective of the Year, which has the themes "Participation, Development, Peace", is to stimulate public awareness of the needs and aspirations of young people and ensure their active participation in economic and social development and the construction of peace. Preparations have been under way since 1981, when the General Assembly endorsed the Specific Programme of Measures and Activities to be undertaken prior to and during the Year (A/36/215) recommended by the 24-member Advisory Committee for the Year.

Since then, Governments and policy-makers world-wide have been taking a closer look at the problems, hopes and potentials of young people. The heightened interest comes from the realization that as the leaders of tomorrow, youth will be called on to steer the world through its most difficult transitions to date--largely through uncharted waters. At issue is how to prepare the future stewards of the planet to assume that responsibility. "Only a profound understanding of the current situation and likely prospects can lead to the promotion of the best educational, professional and living conditions for young people in order to ensure their active participation in overall development and peace", affirmed the Specific Programme for the Year.

Major issues

Broadly defined, "youth" is the period between childhood and adulthood. But what that means varies widely from society to society. In some cultures, young people of 10 or 12 are already assuming adult responsibilities; in others, 30-year-olds are still dependent on their parents or the state for education and support. Despite the many different situations and individual problems facing young people in various parts of the world, it is recognized, however, that they suffer from common pressures -- economic, environmental, socio-cultural and demographic--that could be relieved to some extent through policy intervention.

Major issues affecting youth today include education and training, employment, health, housing, family life, culture and environment. All these questions can be viewed in terms of the central themes of the Youth Year, "Participation, Development, Peace."

Participation involves the recognition that young people have the right to be included in decision-making that affects their own lives and their societies, and that they must have the means to exercise their rights and the assurance that their contributions are recognized. Youth cannot participate meaningfully where they are alienated or exploited.

Development as it relates to youth is seen as a dynamic process aimed at improving the quality of life of the individual and the community. On the one hand, it involves enhancing the capability of individuals to improve the well-being of society as a whole; on the other, it refers to the social, economic and political change that permits the fulfillment of individual potential.

Peace is a "prerequisite for life itself and the future of youth", the Programme states. This theme embodies that belief that young people must join in the efforts to halt the arms race and channel resources now being used for weapons into economic, social and cultural development. It stresses the benefit to world peace of educating youth in the spirit of respect for human rights, and emphasizes the need to "harness the energies, enthusiasms and creative abilities of youth" to the tasks of nation-building, the struggle for self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, the economic, social and cultural advancement of peoples, implementation of the new international order, and promotion of international co-operation.

National activities

International Youth Year (1985) is not so much an event as an ongoing process. The strategy set out in the Specific Programme of Measures and Activities envisaged a three-phase approach, with 1985 as the pivotal year for celebration and evaluation, between the research and planning stage and the follow-up period of programming and policy review.

The focus is on national action, with each country and community charged with reviewing the situation and status of its youth, in order to resolve the problems of young people and make better use of their potential. Close to 140 States have established national youth co-ordinating committees--largely staffed by young people--to review national youth policies, prepare national plans of action and initiate research and data-collection.

A variety of youth activities have been planned or undertaken at national and local levels. Some examples:

* Algeria's First National Youth Festival, (July 1985)

* A youth-run environment and agriculture programme in Ghana with the theme "Feed Ghana, Make Ghana Clean, Make Ghana Green"

* A government skills training programme in Bangladesh for 28,000 youth in vocational training, 3,600 in livestock and poultry, and 2,900 in secretarial science

* In Nepal, a Youth Model Village, Youth Gostel and Youth Information and Counselling Centre

* In Chile, a campaign called "A book, a friend", aimed at creating 100 new libraries

* "Festival of Youth and Students for Peace, Democracy and Friendship", in Cartagena, Colombia in 1983

* A play-writing competition for Kuwaiti youth on the themes of the Year

* Creation of a youth orchestra in Spain and a price for "Youth in Mass Media"

* A Gallery of Friendship to display paintings, photography and sculpture by young people of the German Democratic Republic.

Regional activities

Significant Youth Year events on a broader scale include the intergovernmental meetings held during 1983 to assess the situation of youth and stimulate action in each of the five major regions: Africa: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Asia and the Pacific: Bangkok, Thailand; Europe: Costinesti, Romania; Latin America: San Jose, Costa Rica; Western Asia: Baghdad, Iraq.

The regional meetings revealed the diversity among countries in terms of progress towards comprehensive youth policies, but they also pointed out common threads. Areas where improvement is generally needed include education, vocational training, housing, health and the environment. And in most countries, young women, migrants and unorganied youth require special attention, the meetings found. One particularly hopeful sign that emerged from the regional meetings is the expressed desire of young people world-wide to commit themselves to eliminating poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease.

The regional action plan adopted at each meeting is intended to provide a model for national action plans and focus regional activities, while at the same time serving as the region's contribution to a long-range global action plan for youth.

International activities

United Nations system: As an integral part of the observance of Youth Year, the General Assembly agreed (resolution 39/22) to devote a certain number of meetings at its fortieth session in 1985 to policies and programmes relating to youth. The meetings were designated "the United Nations Conference for International Youth Year". Draft guidelines for further planning and follow-up in the field of youth (A/AC.209/6.51), approved by the Youth Year Advisory Committee in April 1985, were submitted to the Assembly for consideration at that time. (Highlights of the draft guidelines appear on page 36.)

Also in support of Youth Year, the United Nations system has established new programmes for young people and strengthened inter-agency cooperation in the field. A Trust Fund for International Youth Year has begun operations, supporting programmes and projects for youth world-wide, particularly in developing countries.

Among other activities undertaken by United Nations bodies to mark the Year:

* An expert consultation on rural youth organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization, and assistance to countries to develop rural youth programmes

* World Health Day (7 April 1985) sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the theme, "Healthy youth: our best resource"

* Also sponsored by WHO, a report on "Young People's Health: A Challenge for Society" and studies on youth drug- and alcohol-abuse.

* World Congress on Youth, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for July 1985 in Barcelona, Spain, with the themes: youth education and work; youth and cultural values; youth mutual understanding and international co-operation.

* A publication by the United Nations Children's Fund on "Youth in Service to Children" to complement activities at the national level on that theme

* World Tourism Day (27 September) with the theme "Youth Tourism: cultural and historical heritage and friendship", organized by the World Tourism Organization

* Educational project organized by the United Nations Environment Programme to promote awareness among youth of the importance of the biosphere 

* Report on youth and human settlements policy by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT)

* A general survey of the needs and problems of youth by the International Labour Organisation.

Other activities: International activities organized by governments to mark Youth Year include: an international seminar in Austria's Mauthausen concentration camp on "Fascism/War--40th Anniversary of the breakdown of Hitler's dictatorship"; an international seminar on "The Role of Youth and Youth Organizations in Preserving and Developing the Traditions and Values of National Cultures" held at Sochi, USSR, in September 1983; an expert group meeting hosted by Bulgaria on "Children's transition to youth--implications for social welfare policies"; a meeting on "International Youth Year and Scientific Research on Youth" in September 1984, hosted by Romania.

Another noteworthy International Youth Year activity is the Tree Project, a joint effort of the United Nations, Governments and non-governmental organizations. The idea behind it is that young people, by volunteering to plant and care for trees, can become part of global reforestation attempts and learn about the stewardship of the environment.

Future plans

With regard to future activities in the field of youth, the Secretary-General has recommended (A/40/64-E/1985/2) that Governments continue efforts to develop integrated youth policies and give them adequate infrastructural support. Regional and international activities, the Secretary-General suggests, should continue to be supportive of national action and "utilize effectively the opportunities that have been opened up for a regional and international exchange of views and experience that are germane to young people everywhere". (The Secretary-General's findings on the situation of youth are summarized on pages 31-33.)

The draft guidelines for further planning and suitable follow-up to the Year recommend that national Governments, regional commissions and the United Nations system consider the possibility of keeping youth issues under active review so that youth policies will "remain appropriate in a time of rapid social change".