Advancing Youth Civic Engagement and Human Rights with Young Women and Young Men

As the UN Secretary General recently said, the world is experiencing an un-precedented demographic phenomenon. There are more people under the age of 25 today than ever, totaling nearly 3 billion of which 1.3 billion of that total are between the age of 12 and 24. These youth live, by and large, in cities and towns; the cities of the developing world account for over 90% of the world’s urban growth and youth account for a large percentage of those inhabitants. Urban youth face challenges that need to urgently be addressed. The global youth unemployment rate, which is estimated at 12.6 per cent in 2013, is creating an environment in which young people are unable to satisfy their basic needs. As demonstrated by the mass protests in many cities globally, young people believe that their voices are not being heard and their needs are not being addressed. UN-Habitat believes that youth are not only leaders of tomorrow, but leaders of today. This report seeks to outline how youth are taking these leadership roles, and to explore how we can support youth to become active and responsible citizens now and in the future.