How we can help young people build a better future | Henrietta Fore
The Future of Youth: Challenges and Opportunities
The Largest Cohort in History
- Today, there are 1.8 billion young people aged 10 to 24 globally, representing the largest cohort in human history. This presents both a significant challenge and an opportunity for future development.
- Young people are actively engaged in advocating for social, political, and community change, showcasing their potential to drive innovation and progress.
Urgent Crises Facing Youth
- Many young individuals express concerns about facing multiple urgent crises, including demographics, education, employment, violence, and gender inequality. These issues require immediate attention.
- A staggering 200 million adolescents are out of school worldwide; those who are enrolled often lack essential skills in reading and mathematics—six in ten do not meet minimum proficiency levels.
Education and Employment Concerns
- Even among those attending secondary school, many drop out due to inadequate skill acquisition or financial constraints faced by their families. This situation is described as a tragedy for youth seeking livelihoods.
- Each month, 10 million young people reach working age while the job market fails to create enough new positions to accommodate them; this leads to fierce competition for available jobs.
Skills for the Future
- Young people desire education that aligns with the demands of the fourth industrial revolution, focusing on digital technology, green technologies, modern agriculture, business entrepreneurship, healthcare professions, and skilled trades like construction and electrical work.
- There is a pressing need for educational systems to adapt quickly to equip youth with relevant skills necessary for future job markets that may include yet-to-be-invented professions.
Violence and Gender Inequality
- Youth report experiencing various forms of violence—at home, online, at school—and face challenges such as bullying and harassment; every seven minutes an adolescent is killed by violence globally.
- Girls particularly face heightened risks including early marriage (with 650 million women married before age 18) and physical or sexual abuse during their lifetimes; these realities contribute significantly to their fears about the future.
Generation Unlimited Initiative
- Recognizing these urgent crises affecting millions of young people worldwide has led UNICEF to launch a global initiative called Generation Unlimited (Gen-U) aimed at ensuring every young person is either learning or employed by 2030.
Connecting Education to Opportunity
Innovative Educational Programs Around the World
- In Argentina, a program connects students in remote mountainous communities with secondary school teachers and urban schools online, providing access to quality education without leaving their homes.
- South Africa's Techno Girls initiative allows girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods to study STEM subjects and job shadow professionals, helping them envision careers in engineering and science.
- In Bangladesh, partnerships are training thousands of young people in trades like motorcycle repair and mobile phone servicing, enabling them to pursue self-employment opportunities.
- A Vietnamese program pairs young entrepreneurs with local community needs; one group developed an app for transportation solutions for people with disabilities through mentorship and seed funding.
- The "Girls Got IT" program in Lebanon offers girls studying computer skills the chance to work alongside professionals in fields like architecture and design, fostering hope and ambition for their futures.
Scaling Up Educational Initiatives
- Despite the success of these programs, they currently reach only a fraction of the youth population; there is a need to scale these initiatives globally to impact more communities.
- The vision includes connecting every school worldwide—regardless of location—to the internet, offering instant translation services for education in native languages.
- Emphasis on aligning education with local job market skills is crucial for facilitating smooth transitions from school to work for young people.
Community Engagement and Support
- Young people are seeking apprenticeships, internships, and work-study programs; there's an opportunity for individuals and organizations to support these requests actively.
- Youth also desire platforms where they can help each other address issues such as online bullying or early child marriage; creating spaces for collaboration is essential.
Responsibility Towards Future Generations