International Youth Day is celebrated every year on Aug. 12 to spread awareness and bring attention to issues faced by youth regarding their future.

"Young people are on the frontlines of the struggle to build a better future for all. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the dire need for the kind of transformational change they seek – and young people must be full partners in that effort," United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres said before this year’s celebration.

The theme of this year’s celebration is "Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health," which emphasizes the importance of "inclusive support mechanisms that ensure youth continue to amplify efforts collectively and individually to restore the planet and protect life while integrating biodiversity in the transformation of food systems."

On this occasion, here are a few empowering quotes. (Courtesy: Jagaran Josh and The Quint)

  • "Youth involvement has moved forward. It is no longer seen as a rebellious act, the way it was a few decades ago." - Maureen A. Sedonaen
  • "We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends."- Mary McLeod Bethune
  • "The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation."- Pearl S. Buck
  • "Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business." - Francis Bacon
  • "We all benefit by having young people exposed to the 'way things are done' in a democratic society. Isn’t it time... to 'tap the power of youth?" - Hans Bernard
  • “Everybody's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • "Youth smiles without any reason. It is one of its chiefest charms." - Thomas Gray
  • “Sometimes, it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom." - Nelson Mandela
  • "Youth offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief." - Nicholas Sparks
  • "Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions." - Samuel Ullman
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