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3 Youth and Nation-Building in Cameroon 1 The Global Concern for Youth Governance and the Youth Day The management of Youth Affairs has become one of the most challenging global issues today. It is estimated that 50% of the world’s population, representing 1.5 billion people, are between the ages of 10 and 25, which cover the categories of early adolescent (10-14), late adolescent (15-19), and Youth (15-24). The 2006 African Youth Charter however defines youth as any individual aged 15-35 years, thereby providing sufficient compromise for all African countries, most of whom have defined youth as individuals between 29 and 40 years in their National Youth Policies.1 The importance of youth matters as a global concern as stated by the UN in 2000 has been based on the fact that: Young people are a source of creativity, energy, and initiative, of dynamism and social renewal. They learn quickly and adapt readily. Given the chance to go to school and find work, they will contribute hugely to economic development and social progress.2 In spite of these potentials, there has been a growing youth crisis because of the absence of role models, breakdown of social and cultural systems, as well as exposure to violence and chaos. Moreover, globalization has produced a “Global Youth Culture”, where young people share ideas, values, music, symbols, through the mass media and electronic technology. International concern for the proper management of youth affairs started as early as 1965 when the UN General Assembly adopted a “Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideal of Peace, Mutual Respect, and Understanding between People”. In December 1979, the UN General Assembly revived interest in global youth governance when it initiated the idea of an International Youth Year as part of its package to mobilize the international community towards the implementation of the International Development Strategy of the Third UN Development Decade. This concern led to the adoption of Resolution 35/126 of 11 December 1980, designating 1985 as the International Youth Year with the theme “Participation, Development, and Peace”. Among other things, the objective of the International Youth Year was to generate interest in the specific aspirations of the youths, increase cooperation in youth development at all levels, mobilize efforts to promote educational, professional, and living conditions of young people, as well as ensure their active participation in the overall development of their societies. 1. See the African Youth Charter, African Union Commission, Addis Ababa, 2006 2. See “We the People: The Role of the UN in the 21st Century”. 4 Churchill Ewumbue-Monono To set the ball rolling, an Advisory Committee for the International Youth Year was created which held its first session in Vienna in March-April 1981 to adopt a Programme of Action. The Committee adopted the “Guidelines for Further Planning and Sustainable Follow up on Youth Issues”, which was endorsed by the UN General Assembly as Resolution 40/41. The next milestone on global cooperation in youth governance came in 1994 when the NGO Forum of the Cairo Conference on Population and Development adopted the “Cairo Youth Declaration”, which was endorsed in 1995 by the UN General Assembly as Resolution 50/81 with focus on the “World Programme of Action for the Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond” (WPAY). The 1995 WPAY adopted 10 priority areas for youth development, which were increased to 15 in 2003 to include: education, employment, Hunger and Poverty, Health, Environment, Drug Abuse, Juvenile Delinquency, Leisure, Girls and Young Women, Participation, Globalization, ICT, HIV-AIDS, Armed Conflicts, and Inter-generational relations. Apart from the WPAY, the 1995 World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen, Denmark adopted the “Copenhagen Youth Declaration”, which focused on Youth Rights, Youth Policy, Young Women, Education, Racism, Xenophobia, Health,Population,Economy,Environment,Sustainable Development, and Global Governance. Since 1995, the international community had created a number of mechanisms to cooperate on the global youth governance, which include the World Youth Forum, the World Youth Festivals, the Global Conferences on National Youth Services, and the World Conference of Ministers of Youth Matters. The idea of a World Youth Forum (WYF) started in 1960 in Moscow, leading to two meetings in 1961 and 1964, though but the first World Youth Forum took place in 1991. This was followed by that of November 1996 in Vienna (Austria), and Praga (Portugal) in 1998, which adopted the “Praga Plan of Action” on youth participation in the political process and the strengthening of...

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