Social

Home page

Social

UN Secretary General gives message for International Youth Day

08 August 2007 16:47 (UTC +04:00)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has released a message for International Youth Day, to be observed on 12 August. UN Department of Public Information office in Azerbaijan told APA.
Following is the text of the message:
International Youth Day is an annual opportunity to recognize the worldâ€™s 1.2 billion young people, to celebrate their achievements and to push for their participation in all areas of society.
This yearâ€™s commemoration -- Be Seen, Be Heard: Youth Participation for Development -- focuses on the enormous contributions young women and men everywhere can and do make towards national uplift. They are valuable and committed partners in the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty and hunger in half by 2015. They remain at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS. And they bring fresh, innovative thinking to longstanding development concerns.
In turn, we must fulfil our obligations to youth. The World Programme of Action for Youth asks Governments to consider the contributions of young persons on all policies affecting them. Governments must honour this commitment. They must also increase the financial, education and technical support made available to young people and help them realize their potential./APA/