Youth In Power

Out of the 1.8+ billion young people in the world, how many have been empowered to participate in civic processes? There has been a huge difference in the way young people in developed countries and those in less developed countries react to the political and non-political affairs of their countries. Many reasons have been brought about to highlight reasons why young people in less developed countries have been less engaged in civic processes.

Civic participation or civic engagement involves “working to make a difference in one's community and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference”(Erlich). Civic participation is simply taking ownership of the affairs of the community and contributing towards its development. The United Nations defines youths as people between the ages of 15 and 24, whilst the African Union regards people between the ages of 15 and 35 as youths. Age is a major factor in civic participation. According to Micheisen, all forms of “political activism, environmentalism, volunteerism, community and national service,” are part of civic engagement. These actions require one’s time, energy, resources, and commitment in order to be fulfilled. Young people have a crucial role to play in the sustainable development of their communities. Participation in civic processes is one of the many roles.

The first reason why there is a low turnout of young people in civic processes is due to restrictive political systems. Most countries, specifically African countries, have been ruled by the regime which fought for independence against colonialists. Leaders in that era still believe that they deserve to be in power since they put their lives on the line for the freedom of their countries. They have seized powerful decision-making positions in social, economic, and political systems, making it difficult for youths who were not even present during liberation struggles to penetrate into civic systems. It is unfortunate that young people are not easily given the chance to take up leadership positons. They have to manoeuvre through stringent systems to get recognition and approval for leadership. Some have only managed to participate in volunteer activities to advance community progress. Volunteerism has proved to “play a valuable role in shaping how youth learn to interact with their community and develop the skills, values, and sense of empowerment necessary to become active citizens”(CNC). A few have entered the civic space, but many have given up in the process and failed to take action in societal development practices.

source: AZQuotes

Another reason why young people in less developed countries participate less in civic processes is because of lack of resources. Certain civic skills such as participating in political elections require one to have a lot of resources to fund campaigns. Zimbabwe, for example, has had a low record of young people campaigning for seats in parliament or for councillorship. “The Zimbabwe Parliament constitutes 1.6% young people” which is “4 out of 260 Members of Parliament” (Gondo). Young people who get the opportunity to become Members of Parliament are usually affiliated with strong political parties and have strong connections too to advance their political strategies. In light of this low participation of young people in civic processes, Zimbabwe has introduced a youth quota system were young people will campaign for 10 seats specifically set aside for youths in parliament. This has yielded a lot of mixed feelings since gender issues are now being put on the table-What if males win all the ten seats? Who will advocate for women's issues? Overall, young people are not capacitated enough to run for national leadership positions. They require more mentorship, leadership training, and financial support to advance their participation in civic processes. Without all these, it will remain difficult to advance civic engagement with young people.

source: CCEP

The last reason why young people are not active in civic engagement is ignorance. Most young people in marginalised communities are not fully aware of the importance of contributing towards civic processes. Misheck Gondo highlights that youths in Zimbabwe have experienced “torrid economic and political environment coupled with high unemployment, poor education system, state brutality, and a blank future.” With the levels of education lower in less developed countries than the developed countries, people may continue existing without recognizing their value in advancing community development. Lack of interest combined with lack of education have contributed towards this ignorance. Young people have become very negligent and are causing havoc in their communities. Due to unemployment, youths are now more engaged in criminal activities and have become a threat to community development. It is vital that people learn about their rights and citizen responsibilities from elementary school so that they understand why they should participate in civic processes and have the zeal to participate in electoral processes too. It is crucial for more youths to participate in civic engagement.

Young people should become capacitated to contribute towards civic engagement. They need support, opportunities, and education in order for them to understand the value of civic participation. Young people need to be actively involved in community development. What do you think?