About the Author: Ronan Farrow serves as Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues.

Today is International Youth Day (IYD), marking the close of the United Nations’ International Year of Youth — but not of America’s commitment to young people.

The theme for International Youth Day is “Change Our World” — an accurate description of the role youth have played in reshaping the global landscape this year. Young people have been drivers of innovation and of economic and social progress. They have also been one of the great challenges to regional stability and security: 86 percent of all countries experiencing a new outbreak of civil conflict have populations with a significant majority under 30. At the State Department, we have recognized that and launched the Office of Global Youth Issues. Created by Secretary Clinton as a result of a Department-wide review of youth policy, that office is overseeing an historic effort to empower young people as economic… more »