Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.

– Aristotle

According to preamble of resolution of International Day of Democracy, Democracy is defined as 'a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, and their full participation in all aspects of life'. In other words, Democracy simply is from people, by people and for people; People are its only possible spark and drive!

Literacy is much more than an educational priority – it is the ultimate investment in the future and the first step towards all the new forms of literacy required in the twenty-first century. We wish to see a century where every child is able to read and to use this skill to gain autonomy
/Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General/

Approximately, more than 774 million of the world's adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and roughly 123 million children lack those same skills, and are often denied any access to education. Put simply, one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women 60.7 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

A person who has sympathy for mankind in the lump, faith in its future progress, and desire to serve the great cause of this progress, should be called not a humanist, but a humanitarian, and his creed may be designated as humanitarianism.

Irvina Babbitt

Year after year, we see doctors, nurses, psychologists, engineers, logisticians, programme officers, information managers, security advisors and the rest of the humanitarian community worldwide give up the comfort of their homes while they go out into difficult territories and put their lives on the line to help those in need. They embark on dangerous missions to countries and parts of the world characterized by catastrophic conditions such as natural disasters, war and conflicts, droughts and poverty. They endure bad conditions with lack of good health facilities and close to none basic needs and yet they still continue to persevere in their missions.

The theme for this year World Humanitarian Day "The World Needs More" draws the world into coming up with solutions to what the world needs more. It is a campaign of words in support of those who are victims of the humanitarian crisis. In the past and in most recent times, a lot of humanitarians have lost their lives and have been victims of rape, torture, kidnapping, while they were working on missions in various parts of the world. The numbers keep escalading and this is a cause for concern, hence most missions have been pulling out of high risk areas in order to protect humanitarians.

At World Assembly of Youth (WAY) we recognize and acknowledge the struggles and achievements of all the humanitarians. Their great effort to bring aid is well appreciated. WAY is also playing its role by raising awareness on issues such as eradicating hunger and poverty, gender equality, environmental sustainability and many more. We also encourage volunteer programs that are involved in counteracting these issues.

The World Needs more people of Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela caliber, people who cherish peace, are selfless, humble and brave. Only then can there be peace, and can the efforts of our humanitarians be highly appreciated and their safety be intact. Youth around the world should look up to such figures and work on making the world a better place by taking part in humanitarian activities.

The World Needs LOVE.

Young men are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and fitter for new projects than for settled business.  /Francis Bacon/

Young people make up one-sixth of whole human population while their curiosity and passion has no boundaries. Youth with their bursting energy and enthusiasm are the key to the world's future development.

The United Nations (UN) has always aimed to encourage young people to be actively involved in positive change within the society and help to motivate their environment for the best. In order to acknowledge and realize the importance and great role that young people play, UN has selected 12th August as the International Youth Day (IYD) to annually commemorate the youth. Through this initiative, UN intends to raise awareness regarding youth-related issues and recognize the efforts of youth from all around the world in enhancing global society. The idea emerged by young people in Vienna, Austria at the first session of UN's World Youth Forum in 1991 and was first put into practice in 2000.