12 August was first designated International Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999, and serves as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.
There are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world. This is the largest youth population ever. But 1 in 10 of the world’s children live in conflict zones and 24 million of them are out of school. Political instability, labour market challenges and limited space for political and civic participation have led to increasing isolation of youth in societies. To bring focus to these issues, the theme for 2018: “Safe Spaces for Youth”
Youth need safe spaces where they can come together, engage in activities related to their diverse needs and interests, participate in decision making processes and freely express themselves. While there are many types of spaces, safe spaces ensure the dignity and safety of youth.

At FPA Sri Lanka, we aim to make sure that our organization is a safe place, a safe space where they can contribute, make connections with each other and openly express themselves.

To guarantee that, we utilize young people as key agents for change in governance, comprehensive sexuality education, service delivery and advocacy.