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I now will give the floor to Milena Dudasova,

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also Youth representative

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from Slovakia.

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Madam, you have the floor...

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10 seconds.

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10 seconds is what it took to Thomas Edison

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to invent the lightbulb.

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In exactly the same amount of time we´re sitting here

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brilliant man changed the history.

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Short while, but preceeded by years of preparations

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and thousands of mistakes.

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This is just one example,

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but my main question for you today is:

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Is youth getting prepared and being supported

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for unique stories and discovery moments like that?

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Dear Mr. Chairman,

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ladies and gentlemen,

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Distinguished delegates,

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it´s really an honor for me to speak here

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at the United Nations General Assembly today

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on behalf of young people from Slovakia.

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What I would like to emphasize today is

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the problem of general phenomenon of low expectations towards young people.

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Edison started developing his laboratory when he was 10,

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founder of American Red Cross, Clara Barton,

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started nursing at the age of 14.

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George Washington, at the age of 16, became a great land surveyor.

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Historian Friedrich Heer made a following comment in this regard:

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"At their time period, young men and women like that

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were nothing unique."

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Today, however, people in their age are only considered being teenagers

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and majority of adults would be pretty sceptical

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about credibility of their work.

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My question is WHY?

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Approximately 50% of the world population is YOUTH.

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Can we see that in our economies

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that half of the population is in their most productive years?

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Being young is currently perceived as not being capable enough,

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so let me give you a question:

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How old do you think the word teenager is?

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Most of the people would say 500 years or 200...

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The answer is

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that the 1st documented usage of the word teenager is

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from 1941.

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That´s not even 100 years ago.

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For me that was pretty unbelievable,

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but more unbelievable is the radical change in usage of young years in general.

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Until 20th century there were only 2 categories:

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kids or adults.

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The dividing line between those 2 groups was determined

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by one´s responsibility and independence.