To mark International Youth Day on Tuesday, we asked young people on Twitter which issues they would like to see given more attention.
The most common response was jobs, which reflects an increasing global youth unemployment rate of 13.1%, up from 12.9% in 2012. The largest increase occurred in the Middle East, which has the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, according to an International Labour Organisation report.
But the particular issues facing young people are beginning to be recognised. The final recommendations for the UN’s sustainable development goals include a target to develop a global strategy for youth employment, as well as tackle youth literacy and numeracy rates, and increase access to vocational training.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is launching a campaign to ensure young people’s voices are heard in the debate around the future goals. The head of the UNFPA, Babatunde Osotimehin, has called for a greater focus on youth issues in the development agenda.
“Young people were not in focus in the millennium development goals, the last global development plan that was adopted in 2000,” he said. “They cannot be forgotten again.”