INTERNATIONAL Youth Day will be taking place on 12 August 2014. It will bring youth issues to
the attention of the international community and celebrate the potential of
youth as partners in today’s global society. This year, the theme will be “Youth and Mental Health” under the
slogan ‘Mental Health Matters’.
The
mental health of young women and men is important for the health of society as
a whole. They are a sources of ideas for innovation and leaders for positive
change. We need to support them in every way in order to build with them inclusive,
just and healthy societies.
12th
August was designated as International
Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999. It is an annual celebration of
the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, as well as an
opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges and hardships facing the
world’s youth.
Thematic
discussions and information campaigns will take place on 12 August 2014 across
the world, to encourage both Member States and the general public to understand
the needs of young people, to implement policies to help them overcome the
challenges they face, and to help young people into the decision-making
process.
International
Youth Day is to acknowledge that youth is a period of dramatic change, and the
journey from childhood to adulthood can be complex, raising a host of mental
health issues. In Tanzania context, youth is considered to be any person
between 15 and 35 years.
In
this day and future this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the
difficulties facing young women and men, including from stigma and
discrimination, and to support them so that they can fully achieve their
aspirations.
Tanzania
as part of the world appreciates and acknowledges the peculiar needs of
marginalized young women and men to promote their full integration international
development goals. Tanzania will continue to work with young men and women including
development partners to support out and in - school health programmes, as well
as informal and non-formal learning and by mobilizing the power of information
and communication technologies.
At
the national level, Tanzania is highly committed to promote inclusive
integrated policies, programmes and strategies on youth, in which all youth
voices are meaningfully consulted and involved. In all this, we seek to provide
opportunities for young people to develop the skills and competences necessary during
transition to adulthood and to make the most of all opportunities offered by
societies that are increasingly diverse and undergoing transformation.
It is within this context that, The Ministry
of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports call upon all youth organizations and
development partners to fully participate in this year’s National Youth Week to
be held in Tabora from 08th - 14th October 2014 as a
continuation of imparting various developmental information among youth and
other stakeholders.
As
we celebrate International Youth Day worldwide, our obligation is to see that
young women and men not as objects of policy but as agents of change. It calls
for action to promote intergenerational understanding and partnership, to
strengthen solidarity and to ensure the full integration of all young women and
men in society and the economy.
In
this Day, Young women and men are invited to submit short stories, poems,
photos, videos and artwork, and those selected will be included in the UN
publication ‘Social Inclusion of Youth with Mental Health Conditions’.
Issued by The
Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports.
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