It was held to focus attention on issues of concern to and relating to youth.
The proclamation was signed on 1 January 1985, by United Nations Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar.
These activities were coordinated by the Youth Secretariat within the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, at the time based at the UN offices in Vienna, Austria.
On 11 October 1985, the Secretary-General of the UN, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, in his report to the General Assembly, summarised the principal activities for IYY.
[2] The main UN event for IYY was the World Congress on Youth (in Spanish: Congreso Mundial Sobre La Juventud) organised by UNESCO and held in Barcelona, Spain, 8–15 July 1985.