Tehran, June 8, IRNA -- Iran celebrates Youth Day on the 11th of the lunar month of Sha?ban (June 9th), which marks the birth anniversary of Hazrat Ali Akbar (PBUH), the distinguished son of Imam Hussein (PBUH).On this occasion, Iran Daily spoke with Dr. M. Hulki Uz, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in Iran.
According to Dr. Uz, Irans young population presents an opportunity to accelerate the countrys socioeconomic development. Iran must harness the demographic window of opportunity presented by its large youth population by gearing policies toward addressing the needs of youth, including education, employment, housing and health.
Every year, the UNFPA celebrates World Population Day (WPD) on 11 July to raise awareness about population issues at the global level. Very fittingly, the theme of this years WPD is Investing in Young People.
Recently, UNFPA technically and financially supported an in-depth analysis and report on youth as an emerging population issue in Iran, conducted and published by the Statistical Center of Iran and University of Tehran.
According to the report, over the past decade, Iran has experienced a youth bulge.
Today, around 50 percent of the population are under the age of 30 and those between 15 and 29 years make up around one-third of the population.
There are 1.8 billion people of ages 10-24 in the world, making up one quarter of the worlds population, comprising both adolescents (aged 10-19) and youth (aged 15-24).
A key theme of the day is the importance of making focused investments in young people, and providing them with opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and resilience needed for a healthy, productive and fulfilling life, says Dr. Uz.
Worldwide, an estimated 515 million adolescents and youth of ages 15 to 24 live on less than $2 a day. In addition, 69 million adolescents of lower secondary school age currently remain out of school.
Dr. Uz concludes that young people are central to the future development agenda.
?Investing in their future by providing quality education, decent employment, effective livelihood skills and access to education is essential to their development and that of their families, communities and countries, he said.
Iran celebrates National Youth Day this year with the slogan ?promotion of culture of health among youths?.
Educating youths on HIV, risky behaviors, occupational health, risk of smoking and addiction is among the programs, which are expected to be implemented by organizations involved in health and youth affairs.
?Youths, Sport, Mental and Social Health,? ?Youth, Marriage, Family and Prevention of Risky Behavior and HIV,? ?Youth, Creative Thinking, Social Asset and Jihadi Management,? ? Youth, Happiness, Hope and Foresight?, ?Youth, Culture, and National Identity,? ? Youth, Velayat and Waiting for Imam-e Zaman (AS),? are the themes of the Youth?s Week from June 9-12.
By IRNA
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