Re: PAC-Youth South Africa commission report

Commission Report

Discussion Leaders: Rumbidzai Mzenda (Zimbabwe, pictured) and Lilias Makashinini (Zambia)

Topic: “State of the youth in Africa and how you can change it”

Participants included delegates from: Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

The delegates shared perspectives on the state of the youth in Africa. These included:

1. Unequal access to opportunities especially technological access which sometimes discourages youth from developing themselves. Financial challenges even to start up their own businesses. 2.

2. Youth in the rural areas in most African countries continue to be disadvantaged in terms of access to resources and opportunities.

3. Unemployment levels remain very high amongst the youth; this also includes graduates and diploma students. Although the number of youths having access to tertiary education has increased, African governments are not expanding fast enough to cater for the graduates being produced by the universities.

4. There is growing moral decadence among the youth, high levels of HIV infection, crime as a result of unemployment

5. Political undermining of the youth and manipulation by power hungry people who only seek votes from the youth and fail to implement policies which improve conditions of the youth.

6. “As youth are we being educated or is there schooling where one just crames the book knowledge” This raised the issue of the need to develop the individual as a whole to be able to focus the working world. For example graduates find themselves unemployed because of lack of job readiness and lack of experiences.

7. There is corruption; people do not believe in hard work too much greed for easy money. The youth are also driven by the media; they are the largest spenders following Western trends and identity issues.

8. There is also some positive among youth in Africa which offers hope for the future. Were youth are really coming up, taking positions and playing an active role in their own lives and personal development. As noted in Kenya the commercial sector is being driven by youth, young professionals who are in leadership positions. There are many programmes and schemes which youth can take advantage of.

What can be done to change the status of youth in Africa?

1. Change starts with the individual, youth should realize they are the agents of change using their various capacities. There is also need to plough back and spread/ share the knowledge that they gain amongst themselves and others who have not had the privilege.

2. Youth should take an active role in politics even it involves just voting, working with the prevailing government to influence policy change. Youth should take advantage and speak out at various platforms as it is part of policy advocacy

3. Joining youth groups and organizations with high bargaining power.

4. There should be more entrepreneurship programmes for youth and access to training in business management, leadership skills and other support.

5. More internet portals available for the youth and training in computer skills.

6. Offering incentives for companies and organizations that have internship programmes to alleviate the high unemployment levels.

7. Continue to advocate sustainable partnerships among the youth, were they can draw their skills together towards one goal rather than competing among themselves and engaging in self aggrandizement.

8. Youth should be encouraged to engage in social entrepreneurship, community related projects and working towards the betterment of their communities. Be part of the development of their countries, by promoting them, talking about the good that is happening and taking part in research initiatives to attract foreign investors.

9. It was also noted that a good number of youth do not take part in development related initiatives and general lack of awareness of the development agenda such as the MDGs, global partnerships and other tripartite agreements signed between nations. Hence, there is need to educate the youth and promote awareness among the youth if Africa is to move forward and meet the various set targets.

These were the recommendations put forward by the delegates. At the end of the focus group discussion we posed a challenge to the delegates to reach out to as many people as they can through their various clubs and committees. To set targets and also train other young people in communities and have outreach programmes to rural areas. We encouraged them to set up partnerships with companies and organizations and source funding for their various projects. To research on companies and their various Corporate Social responsibility objectives to look for avenues for sponsorships.

Blogger's Comments post South Africa

STATE OF YOUTH IN AFRICA AND HOW YOU CAN CHANGE IT TO BOOST DEVELOPMENT

By Blogger Fingani Mphande

Africa is a continent rich in culture and beautiful landscapes but it also harbours many serious issues. The mention of Africa elsewhere in the world outside Africa, the first thing that people think about are the problems that have hit the continent. Much of discussion on Africa is always on wars and famine, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, and so many more serious issues. Amidst all these problems mentioned above that the youth of Africa are entangled in one finds youth who are striving to survive to make a living and become a “somebody” in the society.

To begin with African youth have been overwhelmed by challenges in their education. This problem has cropped up from economic problems due to lack of school fees and governments failing to support their education which limits many children from going to school at the right age. Towards the end of the twentieth century beginning of the twenty first century some countries have resorted to free primary education in an attempt to give basic education to as many youth as possible. But is this a solution? Well what happens after the primary school, the youth will learn how to read and write, but is that enough for them to be self-sufficient and be productive enough to develop their respective countries? If we try to dig deeper into the source of these challenges in education for the African youth it goes back to the society where these youth have been brought up.

There are some cultures, which have discrimination against girls’ education in that they are of the opinion that if they educate a boy he will be able to support the family. But one thing we forget is that if you educate a girl you educate the nation. This opinion has led to some girls dropping out of school early because their minds have been brain washed with this idea or because their parents have decided that due to financial constraints they would rather educate their boy child than the girl child because she will get married anyway and her husband will take care of her. But is this true? What happens if that husband dies, that means we are back to where we started no sound economic status hence if they had children their future is doomed.

Another interesting aspect on this point of educating the youth is that for those youth who have managed to finish their education another problem comes in, unemployment. Scarce job opportunities have led to the youth to drift from Africa to Western countries to try and find “greener pastures” and a better life. This brain drain has also led to slow development of our lovely continent Africa. Also due to unemployment the youth have resorted to alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, and vandalism, which have led to youth ending in prisons and untimely deaths in most instances.

Secondly HIV pandemic is another challenge facing our youth today. Youth between the ages of 15- 25 constitute a big percentage of those people living with HIV and AIDS, with more girls infected compared to boys. This is tragic because this has reduced the life expectancy of the youth drastically as such the youth will not be able to develop their countries. The major problem we are facing with HIV and AIDS among the youth is also due to lack of awareness. There are still so many taboos and things that the Government or societies pretend that the youth do not indulge in whilst deep down they know that the youth do that and they fail to address the problems. If we see teenage pregnancies in our societies that is an indication that there are even more youth who are engaged in unprotected sex risking themselves to contracting HIV and AIDS. How much awareness are we creating amongst our youth in Africa? Could awareness be one way of reducing the spread of this pandemic?

Talking about HIV and AIDS takes me to another huge problem child prostitution, which has come about due to poverty. Many young girls have been lured into prostitution by adults as a way to make money to meet their daily needs. The other sad part is that of children being abducted by soldiers in war torn countries at a young age to serve as soldiers as well as wives to soldiers. This is a very sad situation as these children lose out on education and psychologically they are affected. The worst part is that these young boys and girls also run the risk of contracting HIV. These youth who have been taken by soldiers, lose out on the development that is taking place in other areas around them, it’s a sad situation.

Are there solutions though to these problems, what are governments thinking, are there any plans to help the youth? What are the different countries doing to help and save the youth from these challenges? There are so many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are working hand in hand with governments to try and help the youth. Some of these NGOs are trying to work with the youth who have dropped out of school by giving them vocational training so that these young lives can start their own businesses and thereby be able to support themselves. Other institutions are also there to provide financial support in forms of scholarships to orphans and non-privileged youth to finish their education. There are also NGOs who are working hand in hand with youth who are infected with HIV and those who are also virus free to create awareness in primary school, secondary schools and tertiary institutions to sensitize them on how protect themselves from contracting the disease and how to live positively with HIV.

Rehabilitation of youth who were abducted to serve as child soldiers as well as wives for soldiers is important to help these young people to get back to the “normal” life.

Those organisations helping the youth in all aspects of life I say keep up the good work, I know it is not an easy task. Governments lets support our youths for they are the future of Africa, let us find ways of educating our youth and reducing unemployment amongst the youth so that we can develop Africa. Remember the future lies in the hands of our youth, and if we don’t develop these youths the future for our mother continent Africa is bleak.

PAC-Youth commission at AFROXLDS in South Africa

Panel on African Commissions-Youth will host a commission with the theme "State of youth and how you can change it to boost Africa development?" at the African Exchange and Leadership Development Seminar on March 23, 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The workshop will be the first of several commissions organized by PAC-Youth to take place across the continent. After the commission, recommendations were compiled and used by PAC-Youth members who will carry on activities at the national level.
More information about the commission will be posted here for feedback and comments.

WHAT IS AFRICAN EXCHANGE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR (AFROXLDS)?

Leadership is a very important strategy in the development of South Africa and Africa as a whole. Developing Youth leadership through talent development and other capacity building activities has been identified as a sustainable means of national growth in South Africa, as well as other parts of Africa.

African Exchange and Leadership development seminar is a platform for youth leadership development to be implemented, and AIESEC aims at developing youth Leaders through its different activities especially through this conference.

AIESEC South Africa will be hosting an Exchange and leadership Seminar. It is an opportunity to bring Africa and the rest of the world to South Africa. 200 young people from all over Africa as well as representatives from other regions of the world will be gathered in South Africa for a period of 10 days, and will be involved in several activities including the global village, opening ceremony, formal gala dinner, study tour, developing leaders day and many more.

Participating Countries:
- Botswana
- Cameroon
- Egypt
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Kenya
- Liberia
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- Republic of Benin
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe

Outside Africa:
- Mainland China
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Sri Lanka
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- Canada
- Belgium
- United states

Venue: Mount Amanzi, Johannesburg
Date: 20- 27th March, 2007

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PAC-Youth is an initiative of the African Regional Youth Initiative, a regional partner to AIESEC-Africa.

Panel on African Commissions

Introduction:

The African Regional Youth Initiative (ARYI), in partnership with the Forum for Global Action, has created a Panel on African Commissions (PAC) to promote participatory analysis and to develop national recommendations contributing to efforts leading to a strong and prosperous Africa. This panel was created as part of ARYI’s existing national and sub-regional structure allowing youth and adults to discuss and work jointly on development issues in Africa.

The PAC seeks to:

1. Facilitate public dialogue concerning Africa's place in the world.
2. Coordinate the work of at least ten (10) national commissions throughout Africa by October 2007 and produce clear recommendations to be delivered to government representatives, non-governmental organizations, donor agencies, and other development actors.
3. Popularize development initiatives at community and national levels through publications, research methodologies, conferences, and media work.

The PAC includes a team of leading figures in Africa such as former Ambassadors, Directors of national and international non-governmental organizations, representatives of foundations, a network of ARYI country and regional teams, as well as youth representatives from across Africa.

In February 2007, PAC identified nine youth coordinators tasked with managing PAC activities nationally and across Africa. Youth representation within the PAC is meant to foster meaningful youth-adult partnerships while deliberating and developing action-oriented activities promoting development in Africa. To date, there are nine PAC-Youth Coordinators in Africa. The Coordinators are:

1. Jared Otieno (Kenya)
Jared Otieno Ogolla was born on 22nd September 1982. He holds a bachelors degree in Education Science from Moi University in Kenya. Prior to his current position, Jared was a High school chemistry and biology teacher. He quitted teaching in 2005 and join Centre for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, CDMHA, A Kenyan based humanitarian organization he helped to established alongside his fellow directors.

2. Narcisse Mbunzama (Democratic Republic of Congo)

3. Mbonisi Zikhali (Zimbabwe)

4. Kassin Abdillahi (Djibouti)

5. Kolawole Oreoluwa (Nigeria)

6. Goodluck Lyatuu (Tanzania):
Hi friends, My name is Goodluck Lyatuu, I am a third year medical student (2006/07) taking Doctor of Medicine Degree. At the moment I’m in my early twenties. I am a youth activist and advocate for youth involvement and participation. I like dialogue, sports, reading, interacting and social events.

7. Mbaye Maniang Diagne (Co-Coordinator, Senegal)

Consultant de Profession, Mbaye Maniang Diagne a intégré pour la première foi le Réseau SWAA (Society for Women Against AIDS in Africa) dont il fut membre fondateur de la SWAA/Jeunes 1993. Depuis, il a contribué à la l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre de plusieurs stratégies de lutte contre les IST/SIDA en direction des femmes des jeunes et des enfants au Sénégal et dans les pays Africains.
En 2003, Mbaye Maniang DIAGNE a fondé le RAPS (Regroupement des Animateurs Polyvalents du Sénégal) qui est membre du Conseil National de la Jeunesse du Sénégal (CNJS) et Conseil Sénégalaise des Associations ONG de lutte contre le SIDA avec comme principal objectif : d’améliorer les conditions de vie des populations vulnérables, les jeunes et les enfants en particulier.

8. Bella Akhagba (Co-Coordinator, Nigeria)

9. Zuhur Yassin Ibrahim (Somalia)


Contact information: E-mail PAC@africaninitiative.org

African Regional Youth Initiative website: www.africaninitiative.org/af