Thursday 12th August, 2021: In the visionary effort to commit youths globally into world builders irrespective of their class, the Executive Secretary of the International Centre for Research and Documentation on African Traditions and Languages, (CERDOTOLA), Prof. Charles Binam-Bikoi, has felicitated with youths on the celebration of the celebra he described them as future ambassadors.

The International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12^th  August by United Nation (UN) in order to draw the attention of the international community and celebrate the potential of youths as partners in today’s global society.

The 2021 International Youth Day’s theme, “Transforming food systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health” was chosen.

The Executive Secretary the medium tp  celebrate the contributions of young volunteers and activists who are pushing for positive change around the world, describing  them as catalysts for peace and prosperity, not only in their local communities but on the global stage.

According to him, youths globally constitute over 1.8 billion which almost 90 per cent of whom live in developing countries, where they tend to make up large proportion of the population and global success cannot be achieved without the meaningful participation of young people.

He thefore call on world leaders  for 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.

With the world’s population expected to increase by 2 billion people in the next 30 years, it has become recognized by numerous stakeholders that simply producing a larger volume of healthier food more sustainably will not ensure human and planetary wellbeing. Other crucial challenges must also be addressed, such as the interlinkages embodied by the 2030 Agenda including poverty reduction; social inclusion; health care; biodiversity conservation; and climate change mitigation.

Binam-Bikoi stated that through youth education, engagement, innovation and entrepreneurial solutions, the world will surely sail towards the right direction.

He charged the youths as future ambassadors, to strive in tackling global issues so as to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and amplify their efforts collectively and individually to restore the planet and protect life, while integrating biodiversity in the transformation of food systems.

The erudite professor noted that the International Youth Day is an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young people’s voices, actions and initiatives as well as their meaningful, universal and equitable engagement.