International Youth Day 2011 – Another charade for youth involvement
The involvement of youth in the making of the youth year end landmark was coloured by an ersatz of youth involvement. Youth involvement can only be noted by the presence of the term youth with regard to this juncture. Not only is this a national crisis but stood also as an international crisis. The programming of the celebrations was conducted by mere old cadres in the name of interests in youth development cushioned as youth participation whilst there are a lot of youth activists and youth-led NGOs. We cry foul for the lack of REAL youth involvement at international and National level.
July 25th and 26th of 2011 saw the UN General Assembly convening a High-Level Meeting on Youth with the overarching theme “Youth Dialogue and Mutual Understanding”, an International Year of the Youth package. We acknowledge the UN`s initiative to address youth issues in a High-Level fora. Global Youth Coalition on HIV notes that there were few opportunities for REAL youth participation throughout the High-Level Meeting on Youth.
The anomalies consist of i. Young people were not involved in establishing the theme, agenda or modalities of the meeting, ii. There was no formal or transparent mechanism for young people to select youth and civil society speakers to represent their perspectives at the official plenary and thematic panel sessions, iii. There was no opportunity for registered young people from civil society to intervene from the floor, even though several member states not listed in the Official programme did so, IV. Member states` participation during the thematic panel discussion was low, which further limited the space for true dialogue with young people.
Drawing the same simulated scenario home, we acknowledge that the theme suited well in the Zimbabwe youth participation in the national discourse despite shading tears on the ILLVOLVEMENT towards the celebrations. How the theme was adopted and never modified by the government or youth based consultations remain oblivious to many youth across the spectrum. The programming of the celebrations deprived youth public and transparent consultation as issues of the itinerary and modalities of the celebrations was dispatched to young people.
Although the theme dwelled on Youth Dialogue and Mutual Understanding, the whole celebration itinerary did not give the young people in civil society, youth based NGOs the platform to air views but was gratified to young musicians whose songs was based on making merry not even promoting the theme or anything closer to emancipating youth in the development strata. The event in Masvingo was coloured by children in uniform (who constituted the majority) presumably forced by school heads an evil cult in our sector which undermine rights of school going youths. The theme should have been exemplary in promoting dialogue and mutual understanding
The Youth Fund a connotation young people notes as fraud by bid wigs in financing their closest. For example on the rules of applying the fund- it should a project that produces (not buy and selling) and employs. To my utter surprise, Melody Dekwe, Managing Director of M Fashions a grantee celebrated in the Youth.ZIm Magazine for importing clothes from South Africa and Dubai for mere [1]resell in Zimbabwe. What is the produce and how many are employed? The transparency in the Youth fund should be highlighted. Around 60000 youth from Masvingo benefited an average of $1200 each from the previous Grants, would that implore one to fly to Dubai buy clothes and pay duty. In due respect, the Fund is a joke.
Like always when it comes to youth initiated celebrations as one conducted by our celebrated Youth Forum Zimbabwe in Chiredzi, suffered interruptions from the Police. The celebrations liberally attracted youth people from the district and not coerced to attend. The theme hovered to accommodate celebrating the life of CDE Rex Nhongo aligning it to elections and voting, a footstool to youth emancipation.
We commend for soliciting in puts from youth-led organisations, youths in civil society to inform the theme, itinerary and modalities of the next youth celebrations. The celebrations should have been exemplary in promoting dialogue and mutual understanding between policy makers and young people so as to instil vigour among young people as the plethora world would have been brought closer for youth appreciation. In as much as we want dialogue and mutual understanding, we call for protection of the right to speech and after speech. A scenario that has repudiated many young people not to air views in fear of abduction and entanglement. Young people want to vote but the registration requirements are falling out and need to be revised. Young people want health systems that work for them. We call for a transparent and realistic Youth fund that acknowledges the diversity of young people. We call for a youth-based junior parliament selected by young people not imposed to offices and give the junior parliament power to safe gourd interest of young people.
Real Agenda for Youth Transformation
Tinashe Chirape
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