Global Youth Unemployment

"Youth unemployment is epidemic in both developed and emerging economies, and poses one of the greatest threats to economic recovery.”

– Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation

One of the most adverse consequences of the global economic recession has been a abrupt and unprecedented rise in youth unemployment.  Affecting both advanced and emerging economies alike, this disturbing trend harms not only the youth affected, but also the rest of society.  At stake is a huge generation of young people—the UN estimates that almost 50% of the world’s population is under 25—whose creative energy and talent may go untapped, potentially consigning them to a cycle of poverty, detachment from the workforce, and alienation from their communities.  The damaging effects of this rise in youth unemployment could possibly reverberate around the globe for decades.  

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Global Food Security

"Food and nutritional security are the foundations of a decent life, a sound education, and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals"

- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The World Food Organization (WFO) estimates that 1 billion people around the world are hungry or undernourished.  The task of feeding the global population, estimated to reach 9 billion by 2030, remains one of the most critical and daunting challenges facing the global community.  A rapidly rising global population, climate change, rising food prices, and mismanagement of agricultural resources all contribute to the global problem of food insecurity. Failure to address this problem will place millions of lives in jeopardy, setting off a series of inter-connected humanitarian, socio-economic, environmental, and security concerns, ranging from a rise in malnutrition-related deaths to increased riots and political turmoil.  Thus, the first U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to halve the number of people suffering from hunger by 2015.  Additionally, the G20 is increasingly turning its attention towards reforming agricultural policies and addressing food security issues.

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