Young people across globe can lead world to more sustainable future: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said that the world's young people -- who make up the largest generation of youth in history -- can lead a global drive to break the patterns of the past and set the world on course to a more sustainable future.

"Young people are directly affected by the tragic contradictions that prevail today: between abject poverty and ostentatious wealth, gnawing hunger and shameful food waste, rich natural resources and polluting industries," the secretary-general said in his message to mark International Youth Day, celebrated annually on Aug. 12.

"Youth can deliver solutions on these issues, which lie at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," which was approved by world leaders in September last year to serve as the blueprint for the global development efforts for the next 15 years, Ban said.

In this first year of that 15-year plan for a healthier, safer and more just future, "we count on the active engagement of the world's young people to transform the production and consumption of goods and services so they meet the basic needs and aspirations of the world's poorest people without overburdening already strained ecosystems," he said.

Young people are traditionally at the cutting edge, and today's youth have more information than any previous generation, he said. "Their dynamism, creativity and idealism can combine to shape attitudes toward demand and help create more sustainable industries."

Youth are already influencing how the world produces, distributes and consumes while driving green entrepreneurship by designing sustainable products and services, he said.

"As conscious consumers, young people are at the forefront of a shift toward more fair, equitable and sustainable buying patterns," he said. "Youth are strong and effective advocates of recycling, reusing and limiting waste, and they are leading technological innovations to foster a resource-efficient economy."

"When we invest in youth, they can contribute to new markets, decent jobs, fair trade, sustainable housing, sustainable transport and tourism, and more opportunities that benefit the planet and people," he said.

"On International Youth Day, I urge others to join this global push for progress. Let us empower young people with the resources, backing and space they need to create lasting change in our world," he said.

Also in her message, Irina Bokova, the director general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that young people are powerful agents of positive change, essential to taking forward the 2030 Agenda.

"It is not enough to hope for a better tomorrow -- we must act now," she said. "Change is under way, and millions of citizens are already transforming the way we produce, consume, behave and communicate."

International Youth Day, designated by the United Nations in 1999, is aimed at drawing attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The first International Youth Day was observed on Aug. 12, 2000. Endit