Youth, 1969

The gulf separating young people from adults seems to be growing bigger every day... This revolt is sweeping across virtually every part of the world; it has taken on the form of an open dispute, not only with the university but with society as a whole. With their need for absolutes, the young are less than ever able to tolerate the injustices and disorder of the world.

René  Maheu, Director-General of Unesco

The wave of protest and dissent from world youth has made society sit up and look for an answer, and first of all the reasons why. Though the ferment of youth is a universal phenomenon, the complexity of the problems is due to the many different categories of young people and the wide variety of their social, economic and cultural backgrounds and makes generalization difficult, if not impossible.

Unesco has now begun an international enquiry on youth in collaboration with the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies and a number of specialized research institutions. Its purpose is to gather a maximum of data from every continent on the attitudes of youth to society, their aspirations, doubts and dissensions and their view of the future.

The Unesco Courier proposes to deal in future issues with the results of this vast enquiry. This number seeks to present aspects of the ferment of world youth in a broader canvas. 

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Discover other issues on youth in the Courier.