Dr. Md. Shairul Mashreque :
The slogan of World population day (2014) was ‘invest in youth’. UNFPA calls for investments in support of the largest-ever generation of young people. According to the latest statistics ‘ there are about 1.8 billion young people – those aged 10 to 24 – comprising roughly one quarter of the world’s population. Their aspirations and achievements will shape the future.’ The Executive Director of UNFPA stated: “As skilled and informed citizens, they can contribute more fully to their communities and nations. We know that healthy, educated, productive and fully engaged young people can help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and are more resilient in the face of individual and societal challenges,” (http://www.unfpa.org)
In 2012, 63 million adolescents around the world were not enrolled in either primary or secondary school and in 2013, young people aged 15 to 24 were almost three times more likely than adults to be unemployed, indicated by the International Labour Organization .
Yet too many youth continue to grapple with poverty, inequality and human rights violations that prevent them from reaching their personal and collective potential.
‘An estimated 515 million adolescents and youth, aged 15 to 24, live on less than $2 a day, and millions more face gender discrimination and other forms of marginalization.'((http://www.unfpa.)
A safe, healthy passage from adolescence into adulthood is the right of every child. To fulfil this right, families and societies must ensure that adolescents and youth acquire the knowledge and skills required to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
But the majority of youth are growing up in low-income countries, where education and health services are not guaranteed, according to the report of ICPD , for too many, reproductive health care is difficult to access, and jobs are limited.
Yet today’s youth have higher expectations than the generations before them, with a stronger grasp of their rights and a clearer vision of of accomplishing any difficult task that could be assigned to them. ‘Investing in this generation must be a global priority, the ICPD review report states. This includes protecting their human rights and ensuring their access to quality education and health care, including sexual and reproductive health services. It also includes ensuring access to decent employment opportunities. Such measures will help ensure young people have the means to improve not only their own lives, but also the lives of future generations.’
Recent reports give an awesome picture about youth living in frustrating corners. True adolescence is a prime time for the youth for favorably shaping their destinies with growing possibilities. At times too many young people are in the state of helplessness with mounting vulnerabilities instead.In many regions, girls and young women fare worse, not only in terms of education and employment but also in terms of human rights. Too many girls are pulled from school to be married, part of a cycle of abuses that includes child marriage, adolescent pregnancy and increased risk of injury or death during childbirth.”For millions of young people around the world, puberty – the biological onset of adolescence – brings not only changes to their bodies, but also new vulnerabilities to human rights abuses, particularly in the areas of sexuality, marriage and childbearing,”
It is high time to address predicaments and grievances of the youth. Go for social development with human face putting the youth first. The potential youth, if they are steered out of poverty under social safety net, bids fair to contribute to nation building. There must be a scheme for motivation of the youth.
The enthusiastic participation of the youngsters during liberation war, 1971 highly moved me emotionally. In other expression I am seized by utter emotion as I cherish a quixotic orientation to the intrinsic values of liberation war like secularism, socialism, Bengali nationalism, democracy. Imbued with the spirit of Bengali nationalism youth for fought liberation against Pakistani occupation forces and their local quislings raising the slogan Joy Bangla. More Shabag gathering took me back to the eventful days of liberation war especially when the young participants at shahbag rose to the occasion demanding death penalty for war crime.
The youth forces as new voters played a vital role in electing new mayor as ‘city father’. Given demographic transition bulge in youth population has become a matter of utmost concern. Children upto 18 years old are among the youth as the next generation. They have become a part of public participation so far as electoral roll is concerned. The new youth forces would like to vote for a person who could fulfill their expectations for a change. In 2008 parliamentary election they mandated the scheme of social change that appealed much to them. Unlike the elder generations the new generation does not have a liking for stereotypes, authoritarianism and old trappings that have crept into political leadership. With a sense of justice the youth elements exercise franchise judiciously. They want to make a decisive break with past as it is full of sinister days of lopsided domination and nightmarish experiences accounting much for malgovernnance. It is not difficult it understand their voting behaviour. They always welcome new and fresh political leadership rejecting old leadership style with conservative outlook. In two recent elections-2008 parliamentary election and 2010 CCC elections-their voting participation in large number has caused ballot revolution. Chittagonians with about five lakhs young voters have chosen 4-party alliance backed Chittagong Unnayan Andalan candidate Manjurul as city father for the next five years through exercising their voting power. They want to make a decisive break with past as it is full of sinister days of lopsided domination and nightmarish experiences accounting much for malgovernnance. It is not difficult it understand their voting behaviour It was not that opposition’s nominee impressed the youth with his projected programs of goals. He held the office of Mayer for some time during immediate care taker regime. The young voters perhaps were not satisfied with the performance of ex-Mayor as scores of city’s problems and predicaments were not properly addressed. They wanted to put an end to erring and insensitive urban governance.
There is a voluntary organization in Chittagong like Young Power for Social Action(YPSA) working the adolescents for a desirable social transformation. YAPSA has overtime developed a well conceived formula of social change with a dedicated cadre of energetic young workers. Through training they have become a potential human capital motivating the beneficiaries for self development. The youth approch the target beneficiaries like ship breaking laboureres, sex workers, girl domestics and other vulnerable with right based project intervention.
