Raymond M. Kristiansen
Joined: Mar 1, 2002
Posts: 132 (view all)
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Gender & Age: Male, 34
Country: Denmark
Province/State: Roskilde
City: Roskilde
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Re: youth and development
August 25, 2002 - 08:51 AM
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woah, what a general question  But sure, lets put in some perspectives here.
Here is my attempt of an answer:
1) What Should be a youth's role in the development of it's nation?
2) What is Currently the youth's role in this development?
3) If there is an inconsistency between the goal (should) and the current situation, do we Really wish to diminish this inconsistency? If so, How?!
4) Who are natural partners in the process of increasing youth's role?
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1)
Lots have been written about this, and I do not intend to come with another essay here. In short, (children and) youths are to be a natural, integrated part of the economy and society. They should not only be listened to, but should also have the guts to keep on coming with their perspectives and ideas even if they are living in a culture where youth's thoughts and ideas are dismissed as irrelevant or just temporary "youth ideas".
2)
There are huge differences in how youths are involved in the development of their society in different continents, countries, cities and even neighbourhoods. Countless factors play in here, from the amount of organised youth movements to the extent which single youth leaders/entrepreneurs (sic) can make a (lasting)impact. But the general pattern is, in my point of view, that youths are far too little involved in the development of its nation, whether this be business, the economy, politics, NGO's or other areas. This has of course something to do with the nature of being a youth: being a learner, and as such it is limited how much a 14-year old can help in finding a good analysis on complex social challenges as well as finding solutions to this. However, just because youths are learners/amateurs it does not mean that they cannot contribute, or that they should not be involved. In Bergen, my city, youths are mostly overheared. Youths are very dependant on city funding for rooms for activities or meeting rooms, and in general the voice of youth rarely comes out in a strong manner. So yes, there is certainly a disconsistency, a huge GAP, between the goal and the current situation.
3) Do we wish to narrow the gap? Yes, I do. But we must also use common sense here, and we, as youths, must always, ALWAYS strive towards an active, positive and constructive Communication with adults/authorities. The message, not the anger, must be the medium. Humans are humans, and just becaus we are youths there is no guarantee that our ideas ARE good, sound (economically sound, for instance) or do-able at all. Just like there is no guarantee for wisdom when a man has passed 60.
4) Youths themselves. By communicating and sharing ideas (SHARING, not just talking about sharing and how kewl and fun and interesting this opportunity is) one can work towards our common goals as well as our different goals. We must remember that youths, like adults, are still people, with all their different goals and motivations and dreams and hopes. "All youths unite" or something like that sounds just naíve in my opinion, and we must remember that not all youths are identical. Having said this, there is still SO much we can do together. Sharing ideas, by say first identifying the topic of interest (say, youth involvement in local democracy or economy) and then going out looking for INFORMATION about the topic, and then mix in some subjective thoughts and then hopefully one can have a very constructive discussion where some clear "best practice" cases can be found and can perhaps be copied elsewhere in this globalised world, if all goes well.
I will just shortly mention a case of how I have used my international connections in finding some new ways of attacking a problem.
Since 2000, the housing situation for students and other youths here in Bergen has been worse and worse. The mixture of high prices and a lot of irregularities in the private accommodation market has led to a situation where some youths are simply forced to leave the city and move to another city. In 2000, I co-created "Studentenes Leieboerforening" (SLF), the association of student tenants which had as main goal to help students to navigate in this market and to know their rights. The SLF didnt work out very well as an organisation due to lack of interest among students to join the organisation to volunteer for others, but the problem of accommodations is still there. Then, in 2001 I heard of a project in Portugal where students have made a certification system of student rooms.. Sounds a bit complicated, but anyway, this idea was new to us here in Norway, and now in 2002 there will next month be a discussion over doing a similar project here in Bergen. There will be a small group of students who will spend the next 6 months looking further into the project, finding other examples of similar projects internationally and nationally, and then in 2003 the project will, if viable, be launched.
The point is: Youths can do things themselves. With the internet, we have a marvellous chance of communicating, and with Taking IT Global, we have a great forum for doing specific communication about different topics.
Other than youths themselves, of course the "adults" are natural partners. We must Not create a big divide between youths and non-youths. We are all humans, that is the point, and humans should be able to participate in the development of their nation, regardless of their age.
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I do not know if my answers helped answer your question, redtipsydog, but this is at least one answer. Take care, and please do give your own perspectives on this question as well.
Oh, and welcome to TIG (I see this is your first post on the forums)
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