International Youth Day - A Celebration To Encourage Tomorrow’s Thinkers

By Author: Akshaya Patra
Total Articles: 80
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Youngsters have immense potential to bring about significant changes in their community and in the world. It is necessary to channelize them in the right direction.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

If basic values of being responsible, taking appropriate actions, following the path to their dreams, etc. are taught to them at a very young age, they grow up to become mature adults and run the nation based on their knowledge and respective skills.
To celebrate the efforts of the world’s youth population and to encourage youngsters to make positive contributions to communities, 12th of August is celebrated as International Youth Day since 2000. This day also brings awareness to current issues related to youth of the world. This day was spearheaded by the United Nations and designates a theme every year. The theme for 2019 was ‘Transforming Education’ and the theme for 2020 is ‘Youth Engagement for Global Action.’ The theme highlights the ways in which young people can enrich national and multilateral institutions and processes.

The theme for 2020 means that the youth should be encouraged to be involved in planning and making decisions that bring about a positive social change.

Ways in which you can celebrate International Youth Day

Here are a few meaningful ways in which you can celebrate this day of energy, passion, creativity and potential:

• Encourage children to be more creative. Creativity is at its peak in childhood and teenage-hood. Creativity sparks ideas and ideas are very necessary to bring about new changes.
• Empower youth to pave their own future. We have to do more than just telling them that the world’s future lied in their hands. Make them understand how they can make the world a better place.
• Inspire them to take part in global activities. Make children more aware and interested in global activities. Help them feel the impact of a positive change brought about in the world. Motivate them to re-enact the same in their everyday lives.
• Encourage them to be a part of non-profit organisations. There are approximately 3.4 million NGOs in India. By giving them the freedom to choose a cause they want to be a part of, you are helping them exercise ‘decision making’ and drawing conclusions after subsequent reasoning.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that takes care of health and education of children belonging to challenging socio-economic backgrounds. The Foundation implements the Central Government’s Mid-Day Meal Programme and is recognised as the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programme. It is spread across 52 locations in 12 States and 2 Union Territories of India, namely in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Daman and DNH. By feeding children with healthy school meals, this NGO establishes a strong base for the future citizens of tomorrow.

You can improve the nutritional status of children with your support too. By doing so, you are contributing in the betterment of the youth of tomorrow. Celebrate this International Youth Day with Akshaya Patra and mould healthy and educated citizens out of children of today.

With your support towards Akshaya Patra, you can bring out the best in today’s generation by feeding them healthy meals.

I'm a social volunteer, lives in Bengaluru. I do work for NGOs to make society better. Currently I'm working for The Akshaya Patra Foundation. It's an NGO in India which provides wholesome nutritious mid-day meals to government school children to end classroom hunger. https://www.akshayapatra.org/