World Youth Skill Day

This interactive workshop will be an introduction to the Columbia Law School Mediation Clinic's Skills Training Course, recognized by the New York Unified Court System, which will be offered in conjunction with UNITAR this coming fall.

Watch UNITAR x Columbia University Fall 2024 - Mediation Skills Training!

The 2024 HESI Global Forum, is a special event to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), under the theme "The Future of Higher Education for Sustainable Development".

The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) is a partnership between several United Nations entities and the higher education community. For 2024-2025, the Initiative is chaired by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN University, UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education, and the Sulitest Association.

Each year, HESI organizes a global forum as a special event to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) – the UN's main platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The forum highlights the critical role of higher education in achieving sustainable development.

Related Documents

Concept Note

Event Link

Watch the HESI Global Forum - The Future of Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HLPF Special Event)!

The future of humanity and our planet depends on young people.

But it also depends on ensuring they have the skills to tackle today’s challenges and shape a more peaceful tomorrow.

We know there is a clear link between countries that enjoy high levels of peace, spending on education, and school completion rates.

Yet today, almost a quarter of the world’s youth are not in education, employment, or training – with that figure more than twice as high for young women.

Meanwhile the financing gap for education in low and middle-income countries stands at a massive 100 billion dollars a year.

This year’s World Skills Day shines a spotlight on skills for peace and sustainable development.

Around the world, young people are already working to build safer and stronger communities. They can make an even bigger difference for our shared future with training for the burgeoning green and digital economies, education to help break the cycle of hate speech and misinformation, tools to enhance mediation and dialogue, and so much more.

Today, and every day, let’s work to transform education.

And let’s ensure that youth have what they need to build skills for shaping a more peaceful, sustainable future for all.

The world is facing an urgent skills crisis. Only around 1 in 4 of the world’s young people are on track to learn the skills they need for employment and decent livelihoods. Too often, this pushes them into a life of further disadvantage perpetuating cycles of poverty and disadvantage. 

We have the power to rewrite the narrative and shape a future full of possibilities for all young people.

Entrepreneurial learning for TVET institutions helps TVET institutions to focus on what really drives entrepreneurial learning by providing the tools to assess the needs of the target group and the framework to explore the added value of an entrepreneurial learning ecosystem. Learn more about it.

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies across various industries is transforming the landscape of work. To prepare youth for the jobs of the future, it is crucial to equip them with the necessary AI skills. The Global Skills Academy will host a dedicated session on "AI Skills for the Future of Work" to address this pressing need.

AI Skills for the Future of Work" a Global Skills Academy Session on WYSD 2024

Join the World Youth Skills Day event held at the UNESCO-UNEVOC in Bonn, Germany.

Building an equitable and inclusive future of work that fosters peace, global citizenship, and sustainable development.

Date and Time: 15 July 2024, 10:00 - 12:30 Eastern Time Virtual

REGISTER

Ten years ago, in December 2014, the United Nations General Assembly established World Youth Skills Day as to emphasize the critical importance of equipping young people with essential skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship, as well as for addressing global challenges and advancing sustainable development.

Objectives:

To celebrate this milestone, the Permanent Missions of Portugal and Sri Lanka to the United Nations, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Labour Organization, and the United Nations Youth Office are convening a virtual panel discussion to:

Review effective practices and interventions to advance skills development that enables youth to contribute actively to peace and sustainable development.

Highlight youth's contribution to the acceleration of the achievement of the SDGs especially those related to skills and decent work for peace and resilience,

Highlight the positive experiences and skills of young people that have contributed to a workplace free from violence and harassment.

Explore ways to foster social and emotional learning into education and training systems to equip youth with skills for empathy, resilience, and conflict resolution.

Explore ways to foster global citizenship education and integrate it in curricula at all levels of education, including TVET, to enhance understanding of global issues and empower youth to act as agents of change.

Related Documents

Concept note

Flyer of the World Youth Skills Day 2024 virtual event.

Watch the World Youth Skills Day 2024 virtual event from UNHQ.

This session will discuss the recent study the IMF titled Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work.

Watch the Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work!

WE THE FUTURE Re-imagining The Future of Global Mental Health unites extraordinary global leaders and high impact philanthropists, alongside next generation social entrepreneurs, global health scientists and mental health experts, uniting humanity in action to solve our planet's most urgent challenges in achieving the 17 UN SDGs.

Kunal Sood will provide a brief introduction as to what co-creating a world where mental health, transformational leadership, and global wellbeing are our highest priority consists of, why it can contribute to sustaining peace, and what is being done to facilitate inclusion of mental health in sustaining peace efforts. Following the introduction and overview, Mrs. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau will describe key challenges in mental health and best practices for growth and positive change, delving into the science behind brain health and our unique human emotional signatures. Four practitioners will then provide concrete examples as to how mental health is implemented on the ground, interspersed with experts and pioneers sharing their lived experiences — recognizing the relevance of global mental health as a universal need, and the importance of this recognition in public policy objectives and related outcomes globally.

Following the presentations, the floor will be open to Statements from the Floor and discussion. 

Watch WE THE FUTURE: Reimagining The Future of Mental Health, Leadership and Wellbeing by Unlocking Our Infinite Mind's Potential through AI, Neuroscience and Global Health!

The celebration of the UNIS Graduation Ceremony at the GA Hall exemplifies the important link between the School and the United Nations, and between the School and the Member States, and is consistent with the unique character of UNIS.

Related Sites and Documents

Programme of the Class of 2024 Graduation   

Watch the UN International School (UNIS) Graduation Ceremony Class 2024

Listen to reflections on the discussions during the forum and learn about encourage continued action.

Watch the Global Skills Forum - Closing addresses

Watch the panel discussion on ''Human-centered digital transformation of skills development.''

Explore the importance of effective skills anticipation systems in addressing emerging challenges and capitalizing on opportunities for sustainable growth.

Watch Navigating tomorrow: Crafting effective national Skills Anticipation Systems!

Discover how ILO-EU-Canadian collaboration in Bangladesh has successfully supported Bangladesh in transforming skills development systems for market relevance, attractiveness, and inclusion, and how this will influence future investment.

Explore how partnerships can be harnessed to improve the benefits of migration for both countries of origin and destination.

Watch the panel discussion on "Skills for social inclusion: Global partnerships on migration and forced displacement".

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Listen to a range of development partners sharing their experiences on how to foster successful global partnerships, innovative strategies, impactful initiatives.

Wath the Partnerships for skills development panel discussion!