Global Youth Help Desk

Greek youth media project wins charlemagne prize!
The Charlemagne Youth Prize recognizes contributions by young people towards the process of European integration. This year the prize was awarded to the "Europe on the Ground", a Greek youth media project. According to the European Parliament, it is an innovative youth media project that sends multicultural teams of over 50 young citizen journalists and amateur photographers to 10 European capitals each year.

Posted On 18 May 2012

Youth wage subsidy under review: South Africa
Discussions on the youth wage subsidy are now in the economic sector and are part of a multi-pronged strategy to deal with youth unemployment. President Jacob Zuma has given the assurance that the government intends going ahead with its planned wage subsidy to cut youth unemployment, but its final design could still be negotiated. The government has proposed that the youth subsidy be made available for workers under the age of 30, whose salaries are below the personal income tax threshold.

Posted On 17 May 2012

Higher taxes leads to fewer young smokers
The American Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that daily smoking - the primary cause of preventable illness and death in the U.S - fell to 15.8 percent from 20.4 percent in 2004. This is directly connected to the fact that cigarette taxes that have broken the $3-a-pack threshold in some states, rendering smoking too expensive for young adults.

Posted On 17 May 2012

Rio +20: The effect of urbanisation on the poor
Sustainable urbanisation is one of the key challenges to be addressed by the Rio+20 Earth summit. Many urbanisation debates fail to acknowledge the realities of ''peri-urban spaces'' – the rural/urban places on the city fringe. The peri-urban remains absent from international policy and environmental politics.

Posted On 11 May 2012

"Her body, her choice": Youth against abortion
Thousands of Canadian teenagers gathered together in Ottawa for the anti-abortion rally held annually by the Campaign Life Coalition. Several politicians, religious leaders and activists praised the youth for actively making their voice heard, as they are the future and it is important for them to stand up for issues that they care about.

Posted On 11 May 2012