Investing in education and youth volunteers creates a foundation for a better future for everyone. Globally, we are part of the largest generation of youth in human history. There are 1.8 billion young people worldwide, a third of them are volunteering.
Youth literacy has in general increased in the last 65 years ( from 42 percent in 1960 to 86 percent in 2015). Despite this improvement, there are still substantial challenges ahead. Engaging youth and making education relevant, equitable and inclusive is a key factor for the achievement of 2030 agenda.
By 2030, the sustainable goals (SDG4) aims to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. Nowadays, young women do not have the same access to education and training as their male peers. According to UNICEF, globally, 264 million children and adolescents do not have the opportunity to enter or complete school. Only 10 percent of people complete upper secondary education in low-income countries. At the same time, in the developing countries where 90 percent of the population are youth, accessing basic education is still a challenge. In Niger, for instance, the literacy rate of youth (15-24 years) is only 36.5 percent.
Across the globe, young people are standing up for the right of everyone to access free, inclusive and good quality education and training. These efforts need support from governments, institutions and societies.
Number of countries are recognizing volunteering to be part of the solution for illiteracy. They highlighted in their volunteering national review (VNR) that volunteering plays an important role to achieve SDG4.
In Cambodia, 52.2% of the total population are under 25 years, which is the highest in the South East Asia region. It was mentioned in its VNR that volunteering is promoting inclusive education and youth engagement.
Volunteers in Oman play a major role in the empowerment of women through participation in the fields of various training. They facilitate women’s access to employment opportunities, education and awareness-raising for women and society and self-empowerment.
UN Volunteer continues its effort to engage youth to support programmes, build their skills to achieve the 2030 agenda. In 2018, UNV deployed and mobilized 1,773 young volunteers aged under 29 years (1174 females and 599 male). From the total UN volunteers, 10 percent of people are supporting education.
Original source: UN Volunteers
Published on 12 August 2019
