August 12 marks International Youth Day. Around the world young people are angry and demand to be heard. When will the world listen?
Students shout during a demonstration, 9 March 2023 in Paris. Young people in France protested against the government’s push to raise the retirement age. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Today marks International Youth Day, an annual event first established in 1999 by the United Nations.
It is News Decoder’s belief that when young people organize and speak out on issues important to them, they can become a force hard to ignore. That’s why we try to provide a forum for youth voices in as many ways as we can: Through youth-authored articles and podcasts, and through live student-led webinars. One time we even turned our Instagram page over to students we were working with.
If you are a young person, this day is for you. So speak out and be loud. Don’t accept what you see as wrong. This is your world to change.
The United Nations has a list of possible actions you can take to advocate for issues important to you and your peers. You can check it out here. We’ve also adapted the list below.
⇒ Connect with the media. You can connect with podcasters and influencers or go old school and contact local or regional news publications or radio stations. Ask them to devote a show or space to interview you or an expert about young people and issues important to them.
⇒ Organize a meeting or debate or roundtable discussion. You can bring together people to discuss the important work young people do around the world on topics like education, hunger, mental health and climate change. You can do this through Zoom or Google Meets or whatever live video chat program you are comfortable with. You can do this as a school project or just among the people you know. For examples, check out our “Decoder Dialogues” — live zoom sessions where we bring young people together from different countries to talk about important issues with an expert on that topic.
⇒ Organize a youth forum in your community. You can invite people from different economic and cultural backgrounds to promote acceptance and recognition and understanding of different perspectives.
⇒ Set up a table at a central location. This creates a place where people can talk to you about youth-related issues.
⇒ Organize a musical performance or art exhibit in a public space. These are great ways to bring people together and showcases the challenges and accomplishments of young people.
⇒ Contact your government representatives. Let them know what issues you care about and how government policies or laws affect young people.
And if you want to feel more empowered, check out these News Decoder stories:
Questions to consider:
1. In what ways do young people have power even when they are too young to vote?
2. How can you make your opinions heard beyond your home and school?
3. If you were going to lead a demonstration or protest what would you focus it on?
Marcy Burstiner is the educational news director for News Decoder. She is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication at the California Polytechnic University, Humboldt in California. She is the author of the book Investigative Reporting: From premise to publication.