1. Young people in the Gulf States
Some reflections based on the UN’s
World Programme of Action for Youth
Joop Theunissen
Focal Point on Youth
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

2. Why does the concept change?
What is youth?
A statistical definition: years
A period of transition from protection in childhood to self-determination in adulthood
Why does the concept change?
Changes in historical age
Changes in social age

3. How do youth fit in globally?
Children (<15)
1.8 billion
30%
Youth (15-24)
1.1 billion
18%
Adults (25-64)
2.8 billion
46%
Elderly (65>)
0.4 billion 7%
Total
6.1 billion
100%

4. Over 1.1 billion youth – 85 per cent in the South
Asia and the Pacific
659 million
Africa
161 million
Latin America and the Caribbean
101 million
Middle East and North Africa
34 million
Gulf States
6.5 million
North America
42 million
Europe
100 million
World Population Prospects 2000

5. Ten priorities of the United Nations for youth – agreed in 1995
Education
Employment
Hunger and poverty
Health issues
The environment
Drug abuse
Delinquency
Leisure
Girls and young women
Participation in decision-making
UN World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond,
General Assembly resolution 50/81

6. Hunger and Poverty How many young people live in poverty?
Undernourished: up to 160 million
On <$1 per day: 206 million
On <$2 per day: 515 million = almost half of all youth!
World Youth Report 2005, Table 1, page 5

7. How many in poverty: Middle East and Northern Africa region
2 million under $1 per day
12 million under $2 per day
7 million on poor nutrition

8. Coping with poverty
Labour: “forced” entrepreneurship and self-employment in the informal sector
Migration of young workers:
Domestic: rural-urban migration (50-50 point rural/urban population was reached in 2002)
International migration (175 million migrants in 2002)

9. Education – The Good News
The “best-educated generation” ever:
Since 1995, more children than ever complete primary school
Four out of five eligible youth are in secondary education
Some 100 million youth currently in tertiary education

10. Education – The Bad News
Large differences globally:
130 million children currently not in school
133 million youth are illiterate
Large gender differences
Large differences between groups of countries

11. Employment
88 million young people were out of work in 2004 (up from 58 million in 1995)
Youth are almost half of the world’s unemployed
Globalization forces young people to become increasingly competitive internationally

12. Participation in decision-making
Youth participation promotes social integration and cohesion in society
2 trends:
New forms of participatory structures: away from membership-based organizations towards looser, network-based structures
Yet, still very active spontaneous student movements that can bring about social change

13. Young people and health
Some health risks of young people:
Reproductive health risks
Behavioral risks
1 million deaths worldwide on accidents, violence, alcohol, tobacco and drugs
Risk of poverty-related disease
Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, HIV/AIDS

14. Girls and young women
Gender-based stereotyping, including discrimination
Unequal treatment in the worlds of education and work
Access to reproductive health services to prevent STDs and pregnancy
Violence against women; female infanticide, genital mutilation; sexual abuse and exploitation

15. Five “New” Youth Issues since 1995
World Youth Report 2003:
Youth and Globalization
Youth and ICT
HIV/AIDS
Youth and conflict prevention
Intergenerational relations

16. Youth and Globalization
Economic globalization – two views:
Benefits young people: they are quick adapters
Hurts young people: they are being exploited
Social aspects of globalization:
young people come closer together: local issues become global issues vice versa: glocalization
it has created a more uniform youth culture -> see next topic.

17. Information and communication technology
Traditional forms of socialization of young people are being challenged
New technology brings a uniform culture of
Information
Pleasure
Autonomy
A new global youth culture, increasingly media-driven

18. Young people and conflict
Young people are offenders and victims - they kill and are being killed, more than any other group.
They play a disproportionate large role!

19. Youth and the MDGs An opportunity: A challenge:
Youth are a dividend to build long-term social capital to reach the MDGs and economic and social development.
A challenge:
Worldwide 200 million youth in poverty, 88 million unemployed, 10 million with HIV/AIDS
Youth are a tremendous resource that needs to be unleashed.

20. More information: www.un.org/youth youth@un.org
Thank you!
More information: