International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12 August, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society!

Fernando Restoy Rodriguez describes his experience as an intern for United Nations Academic Impact in the Department of Global Communications.

15 July is World Youth Skills Day, a day to encourage youth to celebrate the value of acquiring skills like building, making, and creating as a way to achieve personal success and fulfillment!

Young people are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and continuously exposed to lower quality jobs, greater labour market inequalities, and longer and more insecure school-to-work transitions. In addition, women are more likely to be underemployed and under-paid, and to undertake part-time jobs or work under temporary contracts.

Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Working towards this goal is especially important as it interlinks with other Sustainable Development Goals.

20 June is World Refugee Day, a day to recognize the strength, courage, and resilience of refugees. Every minute 20 people are forced to leave everything behind to escape persecution, conflict, violence and human rights abuses. Forcibly displaced persons include refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons and returnees who are former refugees.

Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in and there is enough fresh water on the planet to achieve this. However, due to bad economics or poor infrastructure millions of people, including children, die every year from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.