Celebrated every July 15 since 2014, World Youth Skills Day is a day designated by the United Nations specifically to bring awareness to the importance of skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship that are necessary for young people in today’s world. This day serves as an opportunity to commit to equipping young people with the skills and opportunities they need to fulfill their unique role as arbiters of change as they work toward sustainable and innovative solutions for global issues.
The 2023 theme for World Youth Skills Day is “Skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future,” emphasizing the role of all educators including youth mentors, as they not only prepare youth to transition to the labor market, but also serve as an essential part of helping young people discover their passions and find a pathway to working toward their ambitions.
GYAN’s vision for the future is a new generation of ethical leaders, with the education, skills, and resources they need to effect transformative change at the individual, institutional and systemic levels. Much aligned with the 2023’s theme for World Youth Skills Day, we are proud to offer initiatives such as the Global Voices Spotlight Series, which helps youth further advance their fields of study and career paths while honoring professionals who are meaningfully engaged in youth-related outreach and research activities.
The Global Voices Spotlight Series is an ongoing collection of video interviews featuring intergenerational conversations between young people and professionals devoted to youth programming across and beyond MSU (academic and support staff, content and industry experts, entrepreneurs, etc.). While each Spotlight Interview will be tailored based on the specific interests and expertise of both young interviewer and interviewee, all conversations include a discussion on how to increase youth access to life skills, vocational training, employment, and/or entrepreneurship.
The whole series of interviewers can be accessed via GYAN’s Spotlight Series webpage or GYAN’s Global Voices Spotlight Series on YouTube; so far, we have had the pleasure of facilitating five unique and inspiring conversations featuring the MSU students and distinguished professionals listed below:
Recently, GYAN had the pleasure of discussing the 2023 theme for World Youth Skills Day with both Prof. Glendinning and Mr. Agomuoh, who shared insights and suggestions for young people. In honor of such important observance, GYAN also put together a curated compilation of additional resources for youth, educators, leaders, and institutions - we hope that these (in addition to the Global Voices Spotlight Series at large) will help empowering youth to become the leaders and workers of tomorrow!
“Including teachers and trainers in this year's theme is a refreshing recognition that the demands of students, their families, and communities for excellence in education is such that the emphasis on "skilling" for youth cannot be enhanced in a vacuum without concomitant emphasis on supporting those who will "skill" them. In today's world of education, the teacher who is not keeping current with swiftly changing technologies, historical discoveries, scientific/cultural breakthroughs, will not last long in their profession.”
– Peter Glendinning
“In an age where many have been displaced from the workplace by the unique positioning of Artificial Intelligence (AI), organizational skills will never go out of fashion. In fact, for AI to find increasing acceptance in our human experience, we need young professionals with not just technical skills, but soft skills like critical thinking, adaptability, empathy, communication, inclusiveness. As humanity rides on the path of technological advancement, AI will be the horse and young professionals with soft skills would be the rider. The roles won't be reversed."
– Chibuzor Charles Agomuoh
GYAN is looking forward to collaborating with MSU students/alumni, MSU faculty/staff, young innovators, industry experts, and more! If you would like to nominate yourself or a colleague to be interviewed in our Global Voices Spotlight Series, please do so using the Global Voices Nomination Form. In case you are between 18 and 35 years old and wish to become a youth interviewer, please fill out the GYAN Youth Volunteer Form. Or if you know of a motivated young person who would be a great fit, please reach out to us via email ().