The purpose of the day is to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The first IYD was observed on 12 August, 2000.
IYD was designated by the United Nations in 1999 with the adoption of Resolution 54/120.
International Youth Day's Slogan for 2014 was Youth and Mental Health. For 2015, it was Youth and Civic Engagement. The theme of the 2016 International Youth Day was “The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production." For 2017, the theme of IYD was "Youth Building Peace". In this way it will go on which recognises the contributions of young people to preventing conflict, supporting inclusion, social justice, and sustain peace.
The theme for International Youth Day 2018 is Safe Spaces for Youth.
Currently, there are 1.8 billion young people in the world, aged 10 to 24. This is the biggest millennials population ever.
Millennials make up 17.3 pct of the total Croatian population.
In Croatia, a large portion of 20-29 year-olds have just a high school diploma and face the risk of unemployment or unsteady, low-wage work. Nearly one quarter of this cohort have finished tertiary education, and 71.9% have graduated from secondary school whereas 3.9% have passed only primary level of education or have not made it yet.