International Year of Youth – driving change

The International Year of Youth comes to an end on 12 August and for many young people it has been a year of great change. In countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Greece and Spain young people have been on the front line leading the calls for change. All over the world young people are working together for a fairer and healthier planet through various initiatives such as the “Change Your World” campaign initiated by Global Changemakers in collaboration with the UN Programme on Youth.

“Change Our World” is meant to be a call to inspire youth initiatives at all levels with the idea that efforts at the local level can have a global impact.
Under the same theme, more than 500 young people from around the world converged on United Nations Headquarters to attend the High-Level Meeting on Youth, last week. One of the main topics of the meeting was youth unemployment and discussions focused on how to strengthen national youth institutions and organizations of young people, and promote efforts to enhance inclusion and the effective participation of youth.
Someone who took it upon herself to do exactly this is United Nations Youth Champion, American singer and actress Monique Coleman, who embarked on a world tour to give young people the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions. Read more about her experiences here.