There were a series of youth activities for International Youth Day here in the UAE . This year's theme was "Building a Better World : Partnering with Youth". As a youth leader  cum Ecogen Regional Ambassador , I showed solidarity with this event and undertook the following activities:

1)  I organised an art workshop for children and youth , where we painted posters on our vision and demand for a more sustainable future . This was another step in the Rio Legacy project  . Art is a wonderful medium of expression and this workshop brought out great visual images and messages of the future we , the youth, want.  Education for sustainable development must be one of our focus areas and this workshop endeavoured to draw attention to this issue.

2)  Alleviation of poverty is one of the Millennium Development Goals and several hundreds of youth took part in a food distribution programme for poor laborers who live in quite difficult conditions. Organised by a local NGO, this was in keeping with the spirit of giving during the Holy month of Ramadan. So my youth group took part in this event in keeping with the principles of International Youth Day . We spent several hours getting together the ?care packages? which were then later distributed to the labour camps. The enthusiasm and focus shown by the youth at this event was quite breathtaking and was reported in the local press as well . The greatest reward for all of us were the smiles on the labourers' faces when they opened the packs. 

3)   Music is my passion and is great way of uniting people for a cause . On International Youth Day , I helped to organise a concert at my music school . I had printed and distributed flyers for the event. Apart from this , we put up the art posters which had been drawn at the workshop mentioned above. The event began with my speech on the International Youth Day where I quoted the UN Secretary General , Mr Ban Ki Moon " To unleash the power of young people, we need to partner with them." My message to the audience was that , we , the youth , form more than half of the global population , and we must use these opportunities to make ourselves heard in order to obtain the future we want.