The World Bank is sponsoring an essay competition on youth unemployment and is welcoming individuals 18-25 to enter. The topic is introduced as follows:
Current world population includes an estimated 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, which is about 24.7% of the world’s working age population. Worldwide youth unemployment is high, almost three times higher than the adult unemployment rate. With the economic downturn, the worldwide youth unemployment is expected to reach 15% in 2009 (International Labor Organization, 2008). In certain parts of the world, i.e., Sub-Saharan Africa, youth unemployment rates can be as high as 60%. More than one third of the young people in the world are unemployed, have completely given up looking for a job or are working but still living below the $2 a day poverty line (ILO), or have migrated. Young job seekers face increasing difficulties finding work in the current economic scenario.
How can youths be part of the solution?
For full information on the competition, which does include the opportunity to submit a video, visit the essay competition Web site. The deadline to apply is March 16th. Winning a competition like this certainly would look good on a résumé submitted as part of a SIPA application or would be a nice start on helping an admitted student pay for school.
