International Youth Day: The Agenda

On this International Youth Day, United Nations revealed its theme to be The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production. Keeping in mind the current requirement of the times, the theme deems fit.

The UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, says, "Young people are not only our future, they are our present. Our planet has never been so young, with 1.8 billion young women and men. They are the most connected, the most outspoken and the most open-minded generation the world has ever seen."

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While these are some inspiring words, they leave the youth with a huge responsibility of the future, and why not! In India especially, we have a huge youth population, and a developing country like ours will most likely see the most change in terms of urbanisation, production and consumption in the coming years. Since we are the ones who are going to make the future of India, it remains in our hands how we choose to do so.

Why is it the youth's responsibility to inspire change? Because youth will be more acceptable to change than those elders who have lived in an era that did not openly witness the effects of green house gases, shrinking natural resources and various other environmental concerns.

Environmental awareness is of utmost importance and this does not simply mean giving out information. It mainly entails informing people exactly HOW the changing environment will affect their lives. Once a problem is personalised, the solution too becomes personalised and more practical.

Good habits formed at youth make all the difference - Aristotle

There are many NGOs and other organisations that are involving the youth in their awareness campaigns. For example, an Organization called TERI in India is helping the youth of the country and even outside create solutions for a sustainable future.

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UNESCO's sustainable future advocate, Lauren Singer, blogs about how one can decrease personal waste of production. She recently came into news for her famous one jar of waste in the last four years( reported by cnn) She believes in the much talked about three Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

In India, many initiatives have been taken by the government too, but there still seems to be a long way to go when it comes to becoming completely sustainable.

Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business.
-- Francis Bacon

Feature Image Credit: askideas.com