International Youth Day 2022

Introduction by the Global Alliance

Today is International Youth Day! Each year on August 12th, we celebrate the perspectives and accomplishments of youth and children. On this day, we also bring awareness to important issues affecting youth, and the importance of meaningful youth engagement. The Global Alliance recognizes that youth are the experts of their own experiences. Accordingly, we must be listening to, learning from, and engaging youth for solutions to the biggest challenges we are faced with today and in the future. This year, the theme of International Youth Day is “Intergenerational Solidarity” which seeks to promote understanding and collaboration across generations to advance sustainable development. Learn about how Kyle Coker, a middle school student and advocate for racial justice, is working to foster multi-generational engagement and unity below.

Hi! My name is Kyle Coker and I’m 12 years old. For a school assignment, I had to write a letter to a public figure to address an issue that impacts my community. I chose to write about racial injustice because of recent events in our society, and because my dad works in this field. I addressed my letter to the governor of Connecticut. When I started writing, I wanted to write something that was heartfelt. As I was doing research for my letter, I understood that this is a very serious issue that should be prevented. It excited me because my dad, my mom, and a bunch of other people are interested in reading about how I feel about this horrible issue. Getting rid of racial injustice is a really important issue that we must address because it is unfair that people get killed just because of their skin color, and it’s sad because they can’t control what the color of their skin is. The lesson I learnt from this experience, from the time I started my letter to now, is to speak out against what you think is wrong.