Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peaceful collaboration, both within and among all nations and peoples.
The coronavirus disease has added a new dimension to Peaceday 2020. For the first time in history, people all over the world are having the same concerns about how we rebuild the world beyond the pandemic.
The epicenter of the initiative was YOUTH ISLAND – a former sea fortress located a short sailing trip from the UN-City in Copenhagen, where 11 UN organizations are collaborating across sectors to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Since the fortress was handed over to the Danish Scouts 5 years ago, it has been transformed into a unique gathering place for young people – and a thriving habitat, where grasses, herbs and wild flowers have started to overgrow the old gun emplacements and hangars.
100 youth delegates from different cities across six continents participated in the online assembly, while others followed the discussions on different media platforms.
During the series of virtual roundtable discussions you all demonstrated your readiness to connect and collaborate across borders and cultures.
We were overwhelmed by the insights and commitments delivered by all of you and the many applicants who signed up and shared their visions and aspirations with us.
The assembly identified a number of imminent and urgent issues that must be addressed by the World Leaders.
The conclusions from the plenary sessions were collected by a harvesting team on Youth Island outside Copenhagen, and turned into a Declaration listing 10 recommendations for the UN.
Click here to view the Peace day 2020 Global Youth Assembly Declaration (PDF)
Quote from UN75:
We will listen to and work with youth. Youth is the missing piece for peace and development. As we benefited from the foresight of the founders of the United Nations, young people
On Peace day, September 21, a delegation of youth representatives sailed from Youth Island to the UN City in Copenhagen on a Viking Ship, to hand over the conclusions and the harvest from the Global Youth Assembly to UNDP Director Camilla Brückner, who promised to forward the conclusions to the General Assembly.
The Peace Day 2020 Global Youth Assembly clearly demonstrated that the next generation possess the creativity, talent and willpower it takes to transform the world.
See video highlights from the event and from the handover to UN on sept.21. 2020.
In the UN 75 Declaration, which was adopted by the General Assembly on September 21, the world leaders have made the following promise:
“We will listen to and work with youth. Youth is the missing piece for peace and development. As we benefited from the foresight of the founders of the United Nations, young people today will have to live with the consequences of our action and inaction. For too long, the voices of youth have been sidelined in discussions about their future. This has to change now through meaningful engagement with youth.”
On the 24th of October, which is the official 75th birthday of the United Nations, we handed over a very special birthday gift to the UN.
Our intention is to invite the world leaders to begin their commitment to listen and work with youth starting now and to join a multilateral intergenerational meeting on Peace Day 2021, to discuss how we can collaborate across generations to co-create the future we want.
The Intergenerational Assembly in 2021 has the potential to become an unprecedented historical event – and you can help us make it happen!
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