World Population Day Celebration Place Young People at the Centre

On July 9th, the National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR) hosted World Population Day, with the dual themes of “Investing in Youth” and “Iran’s General Population Policies”, AVA Diplomatic Reports.Dr. M. Hulki Uz, UNFPA Representative, was invited as one of the key note speakers. Held at the Ministry of Interior of I.R. Iran, the event was attended by 650 people, including representatives from various ministries, organizations such as the Statistical Organization of Iran (SCI), and UN representatives.

Dr. Uz spoke about the importance of investing in youth, and of providing young people with opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and resilience needed for a healthy, productive and fulfilling life: “The importance of investing in the young generation cannot be overstated. Particularly in a country such as Iran, where around 50 percent of the population is under the age of 30, and the country’s large cohort of people between 15 and 29 makes up around one-third of the population.” He also presented a recently published situational analysis on youth, conducted by UNFPA, SCI and the University of Tehran.

A very special speaker was a young Iranian woman, Dilara Dadbin, who is studying law and is currently working as an intern with UNFPA. As a youth representative, Dilara spoke about her hopes and dreams as a young Iranian woman, saying that, “I hope that whoever makes an effort on behalf of our country, will see their positive efforts reflected back on them.”

Other key speakers included Professor Mohammad Nazemi Ardakani, Head of the National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR); Prof. Adel Azar, Head of the Statistical Center of Iran; Hodjatol Islam Seyed Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi Fard , Vice President of the Parliament of I.R. Iran and Mr. Mahmoud Golzari, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports.