International Youth Year 1985: participation, development, peace.

International Youth Year 1985: Participation, Development, Peace

Nearly one fifth of the earth's residents are young people between the ages of 15 and 24. Their numbers have already have already reached 922 million and are expected to pass 1 billion by 1990. Yet, until recently, y outh have been among the world's most neglected groups. International Youth Year (1985) is intended to change all that.

"Youth constitutes a global resource of the first magnitude", Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar declared in a message launching the Youth Year. "They have available a wealth knowledge which, if wisely applied, can create a world of unprecedented well-being. I hope that this will be their commitment in this specially designated Year."

Romania in 1977 spearheaded the initiative to proclaim an International Youth Year. After three years' deliberations in the Third Committee, the General Assembly on 17 December 1979 in resolution 34/151 decided to designate 1985 as the International Youth Year which, it stated, would offer a "useful and significant opportunity for drawing attention to the situation, needs and aspirations of youth".

The main objective of the Year, which has the themes "Participation, Development, Peace", is to stimulate public awareness of the needs and aspirations of young people and ensure their active participation in economic and social development and the construction of peace. Preparations have been under way since 1981, when the General Assembly endorsed the Specific Programme of Measures and Activities to be undertaken prior to and during the Year (A/36/215) recommended by the 24-member Advisory Committee for the Year.

Since then, Governments and policy-makers world-wide have been taking a closer look at the problems, hopes and potentials of young people. The heightened interest comes from the realization that as the leaders of tomorrow, youth will be called on to steer the world through its most difficult transitions to date--largely through uncharted waters. At issue is how to prepare the future stewards of the planet to assume that responsibility. "Only a profound understanding of the current situation and likely prospects can lead to the promotion of the best educational, professional and living conditions for young people in order to ensure their active participation in overall development and peace", affirmed the Specific Programme for the Year.

Major issues

Broadly defined, "youth" is the period between childhood and adulthood. But what that means varies widely from society to society. In some cultures, young people of 10 or 12 are already assuming adult...