Rome (Italy). International Youth Day (IYD) established by the UN General Assembly in 1999, is celebrated on 12 August 2025 to raise public awareness of youth issues, the challenges and opportunities that young people face, and their possibility of contributing to building a world of peace, justice, and solidarity.
“Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond” is the theme for Day 2025 – coordinated by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) – which aims to highlight “the unique role of young people in translating global ambitions into community-led realities,” with the belief that empowered youth can “bring creativity, insights, and deep community bonds that help bridge the gap between policy and practical implementation.”
UN DESA states that “while development partners work to translate and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within specific local contexts, aligning them with community needs while maintaining coherence with national and international commitments, young people are key partners.”
Indeed, when governments provide opportunities for youth participation in planning and decision-making processes at local/national levels and provide spaces for innovation, volunteering, and civic engagement, they not only accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, but also cultivate future community leaders and changemakers.
This year’s International Youth Day also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the World Youth Action Program (WPAY),
the first action plan for youth policies, and programs adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1995. It is a guiding framework for recognizing young people as key actors in sustainable development and participatory governance.
According to UN DESA data, half of the world’s population is under 30 and this percentage is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030. A survey shows that 67% of people believe in a better future, with young people aged between 15 and 17 being the most optimistic about it. By 2050, people who are now under 25 will make up more than 90% of the working-age workforce. 13% of the young workforce is unemployed. This 2023 figure marks the lowest rate in 15 years. Among children between the ages of 10 and 19, 1 in 7 suffers from a mental disorder. Nearly 6 in 10 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries are unable to read and understand a simple paragraph.
It is therefore essential to give importance to education, empowerment, and involvement of young people in order to fully value their potential and their integral human development, so that they can become ethically responsible citizens and creators of the common good and social development.
In May 2025 the IIMA Human Rights Office in Geneva (International Institute Mary Help of Christians) and VIDES International conducted an online survey on youth, democracy, and climate change, aimed at young people and educators from 33 countries on five continents. The Office received 513 responses and 52.2% of respondents were young people aged between 18 and 35.
This survey was launched in response to the request for contributions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in view of the Fifth United Nations Forum on Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law, which meets every two years to promote dialogue on key issues relating to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The theme of this year’s forum is “Democracy and Climate Change: Focusing on Solutions”.
The main theme raised by the youth network through the online survey was the urgent need to include young people’s voices and promote meaningful participation of young people in climate and human rights decision-making, recognizing that young people must have a real voice and influence in defining policies that affect their future. To this end, it is crucial to ensure the systematic integration of young people’s rights through existing United Nations human rights mechanisms, in particular the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and treaty bodies. (For further information)
Pope Leo XIV, addressing about a million young people united in the prayer vigil for the Youth Jubilee at Tor Vergata, Rome, on 2 August 2025, exhorted them to not be passive observers, but to concretely commit themselves in building a world that is more just and hopeful: “Seek justice, renewing the way of life, to build a more humane world! Serve the poor, bearing witness to the good we would always like to receive from others!”.
