Sunday Times 2
‘World Youth Skills Day’ Jointly Hosted by Sri Lanka at the UN
View(s):UNITED NATIONS — The World Youth Skills Day was celebrated for the third consecutive year at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The event, held on July 17, was jointly hosted by the Permanent Missions of Sri Lanka and Portugal, the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy for Youth, ILO and UNESCO. Resolution A/res/69/145, promoted by Sri Lanka was adopted in November 2014, declaring July 15 as a day dedicated to the development of youth skills. This year’s event was held under the theme ‘Skills for the future of work’ and was co-chaired by the Permanent Missions of Sri Lanka and Portugal.
Sri Lanka's UN envoy Rohan Perera (third from left) addressing the World Youth Skills Day event at UN Headquarters
Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly, in delivering the opening statement, noted that “Investing in young people, and realising the demographic dividend, is one of the most effective, long-term and exponential investments Governments can make to achieve the 2030 Agenda and realise a future that is safe, secure and prosperous for all.”
Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Chef d’ Cabinet, making a statement on behalf of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said, Young people are some of the greatest change-makers and innovators we have. We must help young women and men to achieve their potential not only for their own sake, but for all of us, and our communities and societies.”
The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, Dr. Rohan Perera, said the world has witnessed a rapid change in the patterns of employment and related technologies. He underlined that on the one hand the world is experiencing a rapid expansion of technologies such as ‘automation’ which aims at decreasing human labour but on the other, economists are calling for the creation of new employment opportunities.
While pointing out that this dilemma underlines the importance of preparing for the future, he expressed that the need of the hour is managing the transition in the economy and the society in a holistic manner, carefully balancing the contending interests involved. He underlined the need of balanced development strategies which effectively integrate technology, innovation with job creation and capacity building, avoiding the pitfall of ‘technological unemployment’ and maximising the opportunities that technological innovation presents.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, the newly appointed Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth made her maiden public intervention at this event. She said that “with the 2030 Agenda, Member States have committed to substantially increase the number of youth who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. They recognised that without skilled and employable young people, our chances of achieving the Goals are greatly diminished. It is time to take that commitment seriously.”
Ambassador Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the UN, Christophe Perrin, Deputy Director General of the ILO, and Marie Paule Roudil, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York on behalf of Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General, also spoke.