Disclaimer: Please read this piece, interpret and draw conclusion without your political lens. Because in this country, especially in the last three years, one has come to realize that when people lack expressive ability, solid content and robust argumentation structure (to frame their points), they quickly result to name calling and political tagging, to silence you. This article is written in good faith; no political jab intended.
Three years ago, I played a key role in the International Year of the Youth (IYY), also known then as the IYY+10, supported by VSO, UNV, VIONET and others. As chairman of the combined committee of the IYY+10 and the International Year of the Volunteers (IYV), we researched, analyzed, planned, executed and stored key pieces of information for decision-making on youth development, participation and empowerment. The associated outcomes of that 2010 celebration (and attendant activities) resulted in two key short medium term impacts: 1) there were additional (over 25) national youth organizations or NGOs or CBOs that registered to participate in diverse spheres of community and national development ventures, and 2) there is documented positive impact (forget about the flashes of violence here and thereremember shades of violence are evident all over the world) of youth participating in politics, in governance, information seeking and sharing, and assumption of leadership roles.
And, so, this year, while my colleagues in the NGO world and fellow youth, across this country, are celebrating the day, several burning questions suffused my mind, not least “Celebrating International Youth Day: A Travesty of Youth Justice or a Justified Fanfare? Hence this piece is designed to remind policymakers, young people and all, that celebrating a day like the IYY should be a time for staid reflection and to critically examine and seek answer(s) to the above question. For me, the answer is ensnared in a swath of social development questions derived from the general question, above. A singular concept will dominate this discussion; and that isYouth Employment!
Youth Employment
In February 2002, the UN General Assembly reaffirmed, in a resolution, the following commitment, with the intent to help all of humanity, but more so, young people “…Reaffirms the commitments made by heads of State and Government at the World Summit for Social Development, contained in the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action, which established a new consensus to place people at the centre of the concerns for sustainable development and pledged to eradicate poverty, promote full and productive employment and foster social integration so as to achieve stable, safe and just societies for all…” The question is where are we with this commitment? On a scale of 1-10, and 10 being the highest, I’d say 5; that’s an average pass! Remember, Sierra Leone is a member of the UN General Assembly also signed up to this commitment. According to studies conducted by ILO, UNFPA and other credible international organizations, young people (15-40), constitute almost half of the world’s population. In Africa, there are over 80 million young unemployed youth, while in Sierra Leone, the sociological and demographic constructs are similar. Almost 40%, if not more, of the estimated (national census is next year and the DHS will tell us more) six million people are youth, and this is where, the current youth policy (I participated in the old one, championed by Denis Bright and Anthony Koroma) and activities by this government, despites some flaws, are gradually yielding relatively positive desired results. More successes will come, if the policy intention is genuine and more youth voices are constructively inclusive in national planning and execution of social development agenda as clearly stated in the Agenda for Prosperity and the recently launched Sierra Leone’s “State of the Youth” report.
Recommendations:
Policy and Governance: The ongoing youth policy revision is good, in so far as we encourage more young voices to participate in the revision and in existing governance structures at the local, regional national levels. But key to the new/or revised youth policy is what the President and the Youth Commissioner said recently, that the Government will push for massive integration into the performance contract of all MDAs and by extension the private sector, the jobs agenda for young peopleutilization of our local content policy, encourage the private sector to create jobs for young and qualified Sierra Leoneans, their top most priority in their hiring process, and also offer other incentives to young people to ignite innovation and motivation.
Critical thinking: Academia, the national government, organizations and families must encourage critical thinking from young people, especially in discussions and dialogues. Reminder: Remember, almost 60% of Gordon Brown’s cabinet members, in the UK, then, were under 50 years of age. Yet they performed relatively well. They asked questions, sought insight, addressed misconceptions, challenged issues and offered alternate perspectives.
Social Deviance: All of us know that our young people between 15 to 23 years have underdeveloped frontal cortexthe ability to think and make sober fundamental decision(s) based on collected information. As a result we see young people, sometimes, misused by some devious politicians for their selfish gains, and also punished by our justice and law enforcement systems, sometimes unfairly and cruelly. From a social work perspective, what can we do to reduce social deviance that would later lead to crime and other antisocial behaviors that the law would frown at? Watch out for my next piece!
Private Business Enterprise: Encourage more entrepreneurs, business risk taking and become an employer rather than an employee. Even though youth constitute 32% of social and economic migrants, yet they do not have to move if the right risk is taken to start a business, the right education or skill(s) is sought and imbibe the spirit of collaboration (team work) to start an organization or execute a task. Young people should be taught how to make clean and fair profit in business without resorting to unsavory tactics.
And, finally, one of the biggest potential benefits to youth employment, in the next 12-18 months, is the effective implementation of the MCC compact grant. Whether this grant would address one or two massive energy or transportation project(s) that would overhaul our economy and social-cultural lives, substantial involvement of young people in the design and execution of the projects would make a mass difference in the socio-economic lives of our young sisters and brothers, who, all they are asking for, is not handouts but a conducive and secured environment supported by workable policies to participate in the development of their lives, their families and that of the communities they live. I will leave you with the words of Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN: “Let the young lead” and let them be global citizens for the sake of posterity.
By Victor Massaquoi-PhD
August 14, 2013
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