The engagement of youth in civil society will soon be a major discussion topic across the world, as Aug. 12 is International Youth Day, a day designated by the United Nations and celebrated since 2010. Each year, the U.N. sets a theme for International Youth Day, and this year’s theme is Youth Civic Engagement, a major goal of the U.N.’s System-Wide Action Plan on Youth (Youth-SWAP), carrying the U.N.’s expertise and joint programming across the world into youth development.

The hashtag #youthday has been used across social media channels, especially Twitter, to generate discussions on the engagement and participation of young people in political, economic and social platforms. The hashtag has been used to raise awareness on how crucial youth civic engagement is both for the resilience and well-being of young people themselves, as well as for sustainable human development in a broader scale.

Online campaigns and events have been the go-to tools for raising the profile of International Youth Day and spreading the discussion on youth civic engagement. Online makes sense, as 45 percent of the world’s Internet users are below 25. On Aug. 12, there will be Twitter chats on youth health, education, and gender equality, a Google Hangout on how to become a youth delegate for the U.N., as well as livestreaming of various panels across the Internet.

Networks, communities and civil society organizations across the web are asking young people to share their stories on diverse areas like the relationship between agriculture and civic engagement, mental health, migration, violence against women, poverty and employment. There is an official Google map, created by the U.N., of International Youth Day events spread across the globe.

Civic engagement of youth and youth policies have been topics of active discussion in Turkey for two decades now. Youth workers, academics and policy developers have been striving to bring forth a sound and sustainable youth policy, through both a participatory and a rights-based approach. The Youth Organizations Forum has been actively working towards an inclusive youth policy since early 2013. But there is a long history to the forum and the names behind it