Hanoi (VNA) – A ceremony celebrating InternationalYouth Day 2018 took place in Hanoi on August 10, spotlighting the theme of Safe Spaces for Youth.
Speaking at the celebration, UNESCO Representative to VietnamMichael Croft said the youth play an active and inspirational role in boostingsocio-economic growth toward sustainability.
He noted the Vietnamese Government has made efforts toincrease young people’s engagement in making policy for their group amid fastsocio-economic development of a middle income country like Vietnam.
Croft said increasing youth empowerment and involvement indevelopment process can help build a better world, stating that the UN willcontinue steeping up cooperation of and facilitate young people’s involvementin the making, implementation, and monitoring policies that directly impact thegroup.
Nguyen Hai Minh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam YouthFederation Central Committee, said the youth day event is not only a chance tolisten to the younger generation, but also an occasion to call on governments toaddress youth-related problems on the global scale.
Investment in youth capacity building lays a basis for youngpeople to develop and employ their talents in life, he added.
Minh said the National Assembly, Government and localauthorities in Vietnam have organised a number of open forums and dialogues foryoung people to present their opinions and ideas, and make contributions topolicy-making process.
In 1999, August 12 was first designated International YouthDay by the UN General Assembly. The date serve as an annual celebration of therole of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunityto raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.-VNA