1.8B Youth''s Urgent Crises
The World’s Largest Cohort: 1.8 Billion Young People
Did you know that there are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world? This makes them the largest cohort in human history. As the speaker in the video script mentioned, these young people hold our shared future in their hands.
Every day, we read about young people who are lending their ideas and passions to fighting for change, whether it be social change, political change, or change in their communities. With such a large population, just imagine what they could create: breakthroughs, inventions, and maybe even a world at peace.
However, this youth dividend is not a given. The speaker explains that while young people have amazing hopes and dreams for what they’ll accomplish in their lives, they also have fears. They feel that they’re facing a series of urgent crises, including a crisis of demographics, education, employment, violence, and discrimination.
The urgent crises facing young people today are daunting. For instance, globally, 200 million adolescents are out of school, and even those that are in school often feel that they may not be getting the right skills. Additionally, six in ten children and young people do not meet the minimum proficiency level for reading and mathematics.
The competition for available jobs is fierce, and young people are worried that they won’t be able to find work. The world is changing so fast, and young people want to learn future skills for future work. They want to learn digital technology and green technologies, modern agriculture, business and entrepreneurship, and the trades, like construction and electricians.
The speaker highlights that these urgent crises may not be a reality in your life or your neighborhood. However, the fact remains that tens of millions of young people are not so lucky. The goal of Generation Unlimited is to ensure that every young person is in school, learning, training, or age-appropriate employment by the year 2030.
Young People Hold Our Shared Future in Their Hands
As the largest cohort in human history, young people hold our shared future in their hands. They are the ones who will inherit our world and will be responsible for driving its progress forward.
Despite the urgent crises they face, young people are full of hope and dreams for what they’ll accomplish in their lives. They want to create a better world, and they have the drive and the passion to do it.
However, in order to achieve this, they need the support of adults, businesses, governments, and communities. They need access to education and training that will provide them with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. They need job opportunities that will enable them to use those skills to build a livelihood and make a difference in their communities.
In addition, young people need to be protected from violence, exploitation, and discrimination. They need safe spaces where they can connect with others, share their experiences, and work together to create positive change.
The speaker in the video script highlights several programs that are already making a difference in young people’s lives, such as Girls Got IT, TechnoGirls, and programs that train young people in trades like motorcycle repair and mobile phone service. These programs are providing young people with the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their dreams and make a positive impact in the world.
But we need to do more. We need to dream big and find ways to scale up these programs to reach more young people in more communities around the world. We need to listen to young people and give them a voice in shaping their own futures.
By investing in young people today, we are investing in our shared future. We are creating a world where every young person has the opportunity to reach their full potential, contribute to society, and build a brighter tomorrow.
Urgent Crises Facing Young People Today: Education, Employment, Violence, and Discrimination
Despite their hopes and dreams, young people today are facing urgent crises that threaten their future. These include a crisis of education, a crisis of employment, a crisis of violence, and a crisis of discrimination.
The speaker in the video script notes that 200 million adolescents are out of school worldwide, and those who are in school may not be getting the skills they need to succeed in the job market. Six in ten children and young people do not meet the minimum proficiency level for reading and mathematics, which can hold them back in life.
The competition for jobs is fierce, with 10 million young people reaching working age every month. Young people worry that they won’t be able to find employment that matches their skills and interests. Many of them drop out of secondary school because they don’t see the point in continuing their education when they don’t have access to opportunities that can help them build a future.
In addition to these challenges, young people are also facing violence and discrimination. Many young people face bullying and harassment online and in school, while hundreds of millions are at risk of exploitation and abuse. Girls, in particular, face early childhood marriage and life-threatening early pregnancy.
These crises are urgent and need to be addressed now if we want to give young people the chance to succeed. We need to invest in education and job training programs that provide young people with the skills they need for the jobs of the future. We need to create job opportunities that enable them to use those skills to build a livelihood and make a difference in their communities.
We also need to protect young people from violence and discrimination, creating safe spaces where they can connect with others and share their experiences. By addressing these urgent crises, we can help young people achieve their dreams and build a brighter future for all.
The goal of Generation Unlimited: every young person in school, training, or age-appropriate employment by 2030.
UNICEF, along with public and private partners, has launched an initiative called Generation Unlimited, or Gen-U, with the goal of ensuring every young person is in school, training, or age-appropriate employment by 2030. The initiative is driven by young people themselves, who are steering the direction of the program.
The Gen-U initiative aims to create an open platform where people can share their ideas and solutions on what works, what doesn’t, and what might work. The goal is to find cutting-edge solutions and new ideas that will give young people a fighting chance for their futures.
Examples of successful programs and initiatives include one in Argentina that connects students in remote, hard-to-reach communities with secondary school teachers through online learning, and another in South Africa called TechnoGirls that gives disadvantaged girls the chance to job shadow in the STEM field.
The ultimate aim is to scale up these ideas and find ways to reach more young people in more communities, even in remote or mountainous areas. The hope is that every school, no matter where it is located, will be connected to the internet and have access to modern education tools. Additionally, the initiative is seeking to provide young people with work-study programs, job shadowing, and internships, as well as space and voice to gather and help each other.
The goal of Generation Unlimited is ambitious, necessary, and urgent, but it is also achievable. With the right ideas, solutions, partners, and political will, Gen-U can scale up and reach millions of people around the world.
Cutting-Edge Solutions and New Ideas Needed to Achieve This Goal
To achieve the ambitious goal of every young person in school, training, or age-appropriate employment by 2030, cutting-edge solutions and new ideas are needed. The initiative called Generation Unlimited (Gen-U) aims to be an open platform where people can come and share their ideas and solutions about what works, what does not work, and what might work. The program is calling out for help from businesses, governments, nonprofits, academia, communities, and innovators.
There are already examples of successful programs in different parts of the world that have made a significant difference in the lives of young people. For instance, in Bangladesh, partners are training tens of thousands of young people in the trades so they can become motorcycle repair people or mobile phone service people. Similarly, in Vietnam, a program is connecting young entrepreneurs with the needs in their local communities. With the help of a mentor and seed funding, they have developed an app to help people with disabilities in their communities.
However, these ideas and programs are just a start and will only reach a fraction of the young people that need to be reached. There is a need for scaling up these ideas to reach more young people in more communities and places around the world. Everyone has a role to play, and it’s time to dream big. Can every school in the world be connected to the internet, even in remote or mountainous areas? Can we have instant translation for young people, so that they could get an education in their own language anywhere in the world? Can we connect the education in schools with skills that young people need to get a job in their own community?
To answer these questions and more, cutting-edge solutions and new ideas are needed. By working together, we can make a difference and leave a legacy of hope and opportunity for the massive generation of young people who are about to inherit our world.
Co-creating and Co-designing with Young People through Gen-U
Gen-U, or Generation Unlimited, is a global initiative launched by UNICEF and its public and private partners. The goal of Gen-U is to have every young person in school, training, or age-appropriate employment by 2030. To achieve this goal, cutting-edge solutions and new ideas are needed. Gen-U is an open platform where people can come and share their ideas and solutions about what works, what does not work, and importantly, what might work.
What makes Gen-U different from other initiatives is that it is co-created and co-designed with young people. With Gen-U, young people are in the driver’s seat, steering everyone along the way. Gen-U partners with young people to develop innovative solutions and programs to address the urgent crises facing them.
There are many successful Gen-U programs already underway. In Argentina, there is a program that connects rural, remote, and hard-to-reach mountainous communities with secondary school teachers online. In South Africa, the TechnoGirls program is providing girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods with job-shadowing opportunities in STEM fields.
But these ideas and programs are just the beginning. Gen-U is calling out for more ideas, big and small, local and global, to give young people a fighting chance for their futures. The hope is that these ideas can be scaled up to reach thousands and millions of people around the world.
Successful programs already making a difference for young people around the world
The Generation Unlimited initiative is already supporting successful programs that are having a positive impact on young people’s lives around the world. Some of these programs include:
- Skillz: a program that uses soccer to educate young people about HIV prevention and gender equity in Africa.
- Women in Science (WiSci): a STEAM education program for young women in African countries, which provides them with access to mentors and resources to pursue their interests in science and technology.
- Young Africa Works: a program that helps young people in Africa access training and job opportunities in agriculture, digital technology, and other growth industries.
- The International Labour Organization’s Youth Employment Program: a program that provides training, mentorship, and job placement services to young people in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
These programs are just a few examples of the innovative and effective solutions that are already making a difference for young people around the world. Through partnerships and collaboration, Generation Unlimited hopes to scale up these programs and support even more initiatives that enable young people and help them reach their full potential.
Our Responsibility to Leave a Legacy of Hope and Opportunity for Young People
As the largest generation of young people in history faces unprecedented challenges, it is the responsibility of all of us to come together and create a legacy of hope and opportunity. This is not only a moral imperative but also an economic one, as investing in young people will lead to a better future for all.
We must acknowledge that the challenges facing young people are interconnected and require comprehensive solutions. It is not enough to address just one issue, such as education or employment. We must work together to create a holistic approach that addresses all of the challenges faced by young people.
Furthermore, we must recognize that young people themselves are key stakeholders in creating these solutions. They bring unique perspectives and insights to the table and must be involved in co-creating and co-designing programs and initiatives that directly impact their lives.
But our responsibility goes beyond just creating solutions for the current generation of young people. We must also work to create a lasting legacy of hope and opportunity for future generations. This requires long-term investments in education, healthcare, and other essential services that will lay the foundation for a brighter future.
Ultimately, it is up to all of us to work towards creating a world where every young person has access to the education, training, and employment opportunities they need to thrive. By working together and investing in young people, we can create a brighter future for us all.
Conclusion
The world’s largest cohort in human history, consisting of 1.8 billion young people, faces a number of urgent crises today, including lack of education and employment opportunities, violence, and discrimination. However, there is hope for the future of these young people through the work of Generation Unlimited (Gen-U).
The goal of Gen-U is to ensure that every young person is in school, training, or age-appropriate employment by 2030. This ambitious goal requires cutting-edge solutions and new ideas, which Gen-U is actively seeking by co-creating and co-designing with young people themselves.
There are already successful programs making a difference for young people around the world, such as vocational training programs in Africa and mentoring programs in Latin America. By building on these successes and continuing to innovate, Gen-U hopes to create a better future for young people globally.
As members of society, we have a responsibility to leave a legacy of hope and opportunity for the next generation. By supporting organizations like Gen-U and advocating for policies that prioritize the needs of young people, we can work towards a future where every young person has access to education, employment, and the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Let us not forget the immense potential that lies within the world’s young people. They hold our shared future in their hands, and it is our duty to support them in realizing their dreams and aspirations.
