President Raffaele Chiulli urged the sporting community to engage with young people on International Youth Day ©Getty Images

Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) President Raffaele Chiulli urged the sporting community to engage with young people on United Nations (UN) International Youth Day.

Observed globally on August 12, International Youth Day aims to celebrate and recognise young people's actions and initiatives.

This year's theme was "Youth Engagement for Global Action", with Chiulli urging the sporting world to empower youth.

It is estimated that there are currently 1.2 billion 15 to 24 year olds in the world.

"The fundamental goal of so much of sport is to help young people develop physically, mentally and socially," Chiulli said.

"Through the theme of 'Youth Engagement for Global Action', and during this extremely testing period, I encourage each and every International Federation to continue making a special effort to introduce young people to sport, to allow them to dream big and to enable them to grow."

As GAISF President, Chiulli oversaw the inaugural edition of the World Urban Games last year, which he claimed engaged young people.

He is also President of SportAccord, which organises the United Through Sports Festival with the Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS).

Raffaele Chiulli claimed the World Urban Games was a good example of engaging young people in sport ©GAISF
Raffaele Chiulli claimed the World Urban Games was a good example of engaging young people in sport ©GAISF

"At GAISF we are committed to doing our own part in a practical and tangible way with our own multi-sport events," Chiulli said. 

"We see the World Urban Games as an incredibly important youth engagement platform; it is the ultimate celebration of new-generation sports, forged by the spirit of youth. 

"Not only did last year's inaugural edition of the World Urban Games in Budapest host 300 of the world's top urban sports athletes from 48 countries, it also engaged thousands of local school children who attended the event, most of whom were experiencing these new types of sports for the very first time.

"As President of SportAccord, the United Through Sports Festival is also a fantastic initiative to unite, to showcase and to inspire young people to become the next generation of athletes. 

"This festival has already engaged hundreds of youth in Bangkok and Gold Coast via demonstrations and presentations. 

"However, we must continue to empower youth through sports.  

"We look forward to working with AIMS to reach hundreds more young people at the next United Through Sports Festival at SportAccord 2021 in Ekaterinburg, Russia."