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International Youth Day
Students Solidarity Trust
August 15, 2011

The value of young people to any country is without question or query. Their contribution to the nation economically, politically, socially and culturally is also as fluid as it is diverse and as passionate as it is controversial. Young people across the globe continue to ruffle the feathers of authority as they forcefully demand a place on the high tables where decisions affecting their lives are being made.

In Zimbabwe, youth constitute 67% of the population, quite a significant statistic for the demographic matrix of this country. It is also imperative to state that, whilst the youth are naturally expected to take the driving seat in defining and shaping the destiny of this country, events and evidence unfolding on the ground, point to the contrary. A recent Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) audit showed low voter participation among the youth aged between 18 and 30 years, in the last election only 18% of the youth were registered to vote.

The international youth day also comes against a background in the last decade or so of an intensified political conflict, that more often than not, manifests itself in sustained political violence, with youth at the centre. The psyche of the youth has been conditioned to be epicentre of this conflict, the drivers of this conflict.

Yet a cursory scan of the contemporary political scene misleads one into believing Zimbabwean youth are politically engaged or engage. Far from it! They feature prominently in political campaigns - drumming up support and mobilising communities to vote for their party of choice while disparaging their political rivals. Some even go as far as engaging in politically motivated violence - risking life and limb in the process, at the behest of party leaders who view youth as political cannon fodder. However, when it comes to meaningful participation that allows them to make value addition to society, youth are found wanting, in fact, they prepare and serve a meal that they don't partake, a glaring omission by all standards. As we celebrate international youth day, it is time that young people in Zimbabwe take charge, and claim a stake in the affairs of the country.

Realising the young people's value to society, the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 54/120 of 1999 decided to dedicate August 12 to youth through declaring the day as International Youth Day. This was an adoption of recommendations made by ministers of youth in Lisbon Portugal a year before. Poignantly, this year's theme is Change Our World. This theme recognises the connectedness of young people around the world, through social media, and the positive impact they've had thus far. It is also a call to action for both leaders and youths in shaping a world where young people's potential is fully realised by giving them the space and opportunity to share their unique skill, vision and determination with their communities and nations.

The socio-economic status of most young people still lives a lot to be desired as governments have not been able to meaningfully empower young people. Programs such as the chaotic Zimbabwe land reform and the indigenisation drive in many countries remain a preserve of a privileged few. Despite media appearances by leaders suggesting that they are trying their best to empower youths, reality is that young people remain at the economic margins with very little hand-holding from the state. This has allowed unscrupulous political operators in many countries to abuse the youths for personal ends. Youths are the tool of choice by politicians who enjoy fanning violence and due to their economic desperation and instability, young people unwillingly perform this function with devastating consequences to the community and themselves. A traumatised generation of young people certainly needs to be catered for in future government planning as young people try to recover from this abuse by political moguls.

The situation is even worse for young women and those with disabilities in this regard. They remain peripheral players in the economy and social programs to accommodate them are usually the first to go when there is a strain on the fiscus. In Africa young women are also a source of cheap non-paid labour and this eats into the time they are supposed to be in school. Their failure to go to school makes them illiterate and uncompetitive on the job market. In conflict situations youths and especially young women continue to bear the brunt of conflicts. Women are used as weapons of war in trouble-spots such as the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC and the Sudan. Young women are wantonly gang raped and mothers separated cruelly from their children. This renders any economic activity difficult if not impossible for many youths in such situations.

Linked to this is an increasingly worrying trend of exclusion from political spaces. Despite statistics now showing that there are now more young people globally, they continue to be on the fringes of political discourse. Power and decision-making is heavily concentrated in the over forty to the detriment of young people in most cases. This has resulted in skewed budgets which have taken away vital resources from social programs that benefit the youth. Political heavyweights continue to lavish themselves at the expense of developing infrastructure useful to the whole nation. A sense of entitlement engulfs those in power to the extent of failing to make decisions that will benefit the nation. Instead of engagement, politicians opt to use force. For instance, student activists in Zimbabwe and Swaziland and those agitating for change in Malawi have been brutally suppressed by impervious dictators. Maxwell Dlamini is still languishing in jail for merely suggesting that the brutal, oppressive, suppressive and exclusive rule of King Mswati should come to an end. More than 20 protesters in Malawi lost their lives after expressing their discontent with the high cost of living. Countless numbers of activists, mainly young people have been killed, maimed, victimised and jailed by a ruthless Zimbabwe regime that has refused to contemplate a change of those at the helm.

As we celebrate 12 years of the International Youth Day, the Students Solidarity Trust calls on

• Governments to redouble their efforts in pursuit of the millennium development goals MDGs agreed in New York in the year 2000.
• Government to allocate 15 to 20% of their budget to the provision of education for youths with particular focus and emphasis on young women and those with disabilities.
• Governments to facilitate real and tangible economic empowerment for young people through availing resources and infrastructure.
• Political parties and players to respect the rule of law and not muzzle those with divergent opinions.
• Political parties to have a quota system that progressively accommodates youths in decision-making structures.
• Governments to have fewer lectures and listen to the concerns, needs and aspirations of youths.

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