The World Alliance of YMCAs and World YWCA are marking International Youth Day today with a renewed commitment to boosting the role played by young people in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

International Youth Day has been marked on August 12 each year since 2000, when it was launched by the UN. This year, governments, youth organisations, and young people around the world are celebrating the contribution of young people in relation to the theme of sustainability.

“Achieving sustainability in the areas of environment, society and economy requires the adoption of a global sense of social responsibility; and as guardians of tomorrow’s world, young people must be engaged, included and listened to,” said the YMCA and YWCA in a statement.

The organisations are marking this year’s International Youth Day with a particular focus on the role of young people in helping to meet the MDGs, set by governments in 2000 to see extreme global poverty halved by 2015.

The YMCA and YWCA pointed to a lack of political will in fulfilling the MDGs more than halfway to the 2015 deadline and warned that the economic downturn and global food crisis were “severely” hampering efforts to see the goals reached.

The crises, they said, were “further diminishing the incomes of the poorest and increasing the number of hungry people in the world at an alarming rate”.

The organisations pointed to a report from the Ad Hoc Working Group for Youth and the MDGs published in 2005 which suggested ways in which young people could become involved in helping to achieve the goals.

“In the run-up to 2015, governments and policy-makers, the international community, NGOs and all those who have a stake in the realisation of the MDGs would be well-advised to review this report to ensure the genuine integration of young people and their participation from the community to the national and global levels,” said the YMCA and YWCA.

They went on to suggest that YMCAs and YWCAs could play a crucial role in reaching out to young people in their schools and local communities and in encouraging youth volunteering and advocacy on the MDGs.

They concluded: “On the occasion of this year’s International Youth Day, the World Alliance of YMCAs and the World YWCA call on its membership and partners to support young people to participate in efforts towards the MDGs.”