“No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy: Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline.” – Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General
Of the many youths we meet day to day; several of them are engulfed in the ghastly disease of drug abusing or are recruited by religious extremist groups. The reasons might vary, but could we not propose a question, ‘what other choices do they have?’
We, the Maldives, are less than five years into democracy after saying no to a dictatorship that lasted thirty years. Our political system is changing and evolving, our politicians are at the stage of ‘learning’. We as a nation are developing policies, rules and regulations. This is the period where we are laying the foundation of democracy. This foundation, if established well, will brighten our future – the future of the Maldives and the generations that are to live here.
And to make this a reality, we need to empower the youth. A huge percentage of the population is youths. If they are ignored and cut off from the society, we would never see a better future. Thus, it is a duty of our leaders to provide opportunities to the youth. The youth of Maldives need paths to move forward; paths where drugs and religious extremism would not come in the way.
Our leaders need to make the youth aware of the importance of the youth involvement in politics. And it is important that this involvement is a meaningful involvement. This involvement of youth in meaningful politics requires an initiative at birth of a child. The foundation for successful involvement of youth in politics is by protecting their rights as a child. A child abused of their rights would show less interest in politics because they are forced to believe politics and policies of the nation never protected them. They would probably see politics as a game or a dirty joke.
And of the several youths we have today, many of them have this belief; thus, a good start to meaningful involvement of youth in politics is by changing the negative beliefs of the youth related to politics. This might require awareness programs and activities to show and prove that youth involvement in politics and policy making will ensure a better tomorrow. Therefore, to understand why several of the youth have a tendency to say “Yuck! Politics sucks” is of utmost importance.
Our leaders need to provide means for the youth to know and understand their identity. Who they are, and how their involvement in politics can change the future of the country. Youth requires opportunities for development, and the leaders need to put the youth at the lead. Their leadership skills developed today will benefit the whole country tomorrow. Our leaders need to assure that the youth is the catalyst of change. How the future molds and shapes is aligned with the thinking of the youth.
As long as the youth are trapped in drugs and extremism or any such negative activities, it would be difficult to divert their attention towards a meaningful activity such as politics and policy making etc. Thus, interesting programs needs to be designed varying from workshops to activities where the youth could experience how they could use their energy and ideas to shape a better tomorrow.
Youth could be given opportunities to take part in voluntary activities where they are given the opportunity to lead and make decisions without any reprisals. And if their decisions are implemented and put into use they would see, understand and believe that they have a role in developing and molding the nation.
In short, meaningful involvement of youth in politics requires two major things. One: provide the opportunity for youth to raise their voice in decision making and Two: put into use their decisions and prove they are the leaders of tomorrow.
-Thadu
[...] Of the many youths we meet day to day; several of them are engulfed in the ghastly disease of drug abusing or are recruited by religious extremist groups. The reasons might vary, but could we not propose a question, ‘what other choices do they have?’ Read more [...]