ISTANBUL - The sounds of music and clicking camera shutters filled the air on 11 July as UNFPA Country Offices across Eastern Europe and Central Asia hosted concerts, participated in a global ‘selfie’ campaign, and organised other events to mark World Population Day 2014.

This year’s theme of ‘Investing in Young People’ resonates in the region, where adolescents and youth under the age of 25 make up 22 per cent of the overall population but often remain highly vulnerable to poverty, unemployment, health issues, and political disenfranchisement.

‘[We] have a lot of active, talented young people, who are full of energy and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, their voice is not always fully heard. We should give young people more opportunities to express themselves, and create conditions which will help them realise their potential,’ Nikolai Botev, Director of the UNFPA Sub-Regional Office for Central Asia, said at the World Population Day events in Kazakhstan, which included a cycling tour to promote healthy lifestyles, flash mobs, and a concert in downtown Almaty by up-and-coming young musicians.

Taking an 'Orange Selfie' in Macedonia for World Population Day 2014.

People in Kazakhstan along with many other countries also participated in UNFPA’s global ‘Orange Selfie’ campaign. In Albania alone, more than 3,000 young people, parents, government officials, and parliament members took their own pictures with something orange to show their support for placing young people at the centre of the post-2015 development agenda.

UNFPA and its partner organisations around Eastern Europe and Central Asia also coordinated press conferences, celebrity appearances, workshops, street festivals, sporting events, art competitions, and theatrical performances to spread the global message of World Population Day and draw attention to youth-related issues of specific concern in different countries.

Participants in a World Population Day 2014 event in Kyrgyzstan.

In Armenia, a United Nations Youth Advisory Panel was launched to increase the participation of youth in decision-making processes, while an event held in Georgia aimed to raise awareness about the problem of early marriage. In Moldova, UNFPA and other UN agencies partnered with the government on an ‘Investing in Youth Health’ campaign and are working to promote the country’s 37 youth-friendly health centres, which provide information and services to young people on reproductive health and safe behaviours.

‘We know that healthy, educated, productive, and fully engaged young people can contribute to the sustainable development of their countries.” said Lela Bakradzde, UNFPA Georgia Assistant Representative. ‘A sustainable future cannot be achieved without investments in young people.’

Find out more about World Population Day events around the globe by following the Twitter hashtag #WPD2014.