The day was first celebrated in 2014, when the United Nations (UN) declared the 15th of July as the World Youth Skills Day. Since then, World Youth Skills Day has presented a good occasion for dialogue between young people, technical and vocational education and training institutions, firms, employers’ and workers’ organizations, policy makers and development partners. According to the UN, “Participants have highlighted the ever-increasing significance of skills as the world is embarking on a transition towards a sustainable model of development”. 

Transforming youth skills for the future 

This year, the theme of World Youth Skills Day is ‘Transforming youth skills for the future’ and takes place surrounding intensive efforts towards socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst other challenges such as climate change, poverty, inequality, and fast technological change. Especially young people, such as girls, youth with disabilities and youth from poorer households continue to be excluded.  

The resource repository on the BIK portal collects various educational resources provided by Safer Internet Centres (SICs) designed to help teachers, parents and carers, and children and young people, to discover the online world safely and to help learn new skills. 

According to António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, “Young people are drivers of change and must be fully engaged in decisions affecting their future. Guided by the United Nations Youth 2030 strategy, I urge everyone to act for youth skills development as a priority, at the Summit and beyond”. 

Better Internet for Kids for World Youth Skills Day 

Better Internet for Kids strongly supports the agenda of World Youth Skills Day. Here on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal, we focus on the importance of digital skills for young people to support World Youth Skills Day. Indeed, children and youth need to be given the tools and opportunities to correctly navigate the internet and understand both its numerous opportunities and risks.  

Read more about how Better Internet for Kids works to help youth improve their skills online:  

• The resource repository on the BIK portal collects various educational resources provided by Safer Internet Centres (SICs) designed to help teachers, parents and carers, and children and young people, to discover the online world safely and to help learn new skills. 
• The new Better Internet for Kids strategy called BIK+ also focusses on skills for youth. One of the pillars is called digital empowerment and states that children and young people must acquire the necessary skills and competences to make informed choices and express themselves in the digital environment safely and responsibly. Read the article on the new BIK+ strategy and discover more about how the EU wants to make sure that every child is protected, empowered and respected online. 
• While the digital revolution provides many opportunities for child empowerment and participation, it also raises concerns on how they can exercise their rights in the digital environment. Find out more about children and youth’s rights in the digital space in this focus article from the June 2021 BIK bulletin. 
• Learn more about children and young people are actively participating in the Better Internet for Kids agenda and shaping a better, safer online experience for the future on the BIK Youth portal. 
• Additionally, the Digital Skills and Jobs platform allows to gain basic knowledge of emerging technologies. Young people such as students and job seekers, among others, can get full access to online training and learning content on topics like AI, blockchain, robotics and more. 

Learn more on World Youth Skills Day on the website of the United Nations and keep an eye on #WorldYouthSkillsDay on social media. 

• Type: awareness, youth
• Date:2022-07-15
• Author:BIK Team

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