Involve young people in development plans

Last week, 80 young people convened at the 4th Commonwealth Youths Parliament Summit in Kampala. The youth, drawn from 19 Commonwealth (African) member states, passed a six-point resolution at the close of their four-day conference and agreed to press their home governments to end rampant cases of sexual harassment, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and improve youth employment. They also urged their governments to harness youth leadership, address alcoholism as well as HIV/Aids.
This resolution raises fundamental issues that respective governments should address through systematic action plans. As the summit theme, “Securing a better future for Africa: Role of the youth”, rightly affirms, governments and indeed communities cannot ignore the role of young people in shaping the development of households, communities, and countries.
The debate at last week’s youth summit was particularly significant because it was about young people highlighting what governments must do to secure a better future for Africa. There is consensus that listening to young people and involving them in key decisions right from family level, educational institutions and governance is vital.
While active engagements and participation of young people through workshops are common, actual incorporation of their voices in shaping the development plans of countries or influencing policy decisions remain debatable. Governments must, therefore, move from the point of just gathering young people’s views to putting in place specific strategies to implement their proposals.
Often, young people raise issues that are similar to the issues adults deal with. If such concerns are given due attention at different stages - households, communities, churches, schools, etc., we would have fewer challenges. For instance, the youth at last week’s summit focused on social rights, education and skills development; job creation in a sustainable job environment in emerging industries as well as strengthening civic participation and leadership.
The above issues are some of the main challenges Uganda and other African countries that participated in the summit are facing today. Countries must close what the young people termed as the huge youth leadership gap and address unemployment, which is pushing young people to criminal activities.
We agree with the youth that governments should harness youth leadership and support young people’s projects. To achieve that, countries must – as the youth pointed out – step up social awareness on media platforms, including social media, so that the young generation can learn about dangers of unhealthy lifestyles and also be educated about skills development, leadership, and entrepreneurship.