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Youth for development

Young people are the ones who can change the world because they have the idealism of a better world, the energy to try, and the motivation to change. They are tomorrow's world leaders and are in touch with social development of the world more than any other generation.

Ripan Kumar Biswas
OBAMA acknowledged young people, who thrust him into the White House, as much as he could in his victory speech in Chicago's Grant Park after winning the presidential election: "It was the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.”
In November, 2008, the world was delighted with an epic love story between Barack Obama and the youngest generation of voters in America, who turned out at the polls in unprecedented numbers to elect him as the president of the United States because they wanted to change the perception that America was an arrogant and greedy nation.
Times have changed, and the way we engage with issues that matter to us has changed too. Young people are the ones who can change the world because they have the idealism of a better world, the energy to try, and the motivation to change. They are tomorrow's world leaders and are in touch with social development of the world more than any other generation.
The future has always been considered to have been in the hands of young people. While the progress of any country is determined,
amongst others, by how much we involve the young people — in thoughts, words, and action — in developing the present and building the future, young people in Bangladesh have little or no influence over government decisions.
A recently revealed survey by the British Council — commissioned in Dhaka — indicated that three-quarters of the youth in Bangladesh were not interested in politics. The first-ever nationwide survey, titled "Bangladesh: The Next Generation," interviewed 2,166 young people between the age of 15 and 30 at their work, educational institutes and homes in 2009, and three in every four young people disagreed with the statement, "I am interested in politics."
However, one-third said they should be involved in politics. Apart from their political stands and thinking, 60% of them feared that corruption would worsen in the next five years.
There seems to be a feeling that the next generation is politically inactive. Though many young people in Bangladesh care about politics and want to make things happen, a lot of them think that political parties in Bangladesh hardly work on common issues. Lots of young people have opinions and views, but they're not necessarily party-political ones. According to the survey, 79% are interested in development and common issues.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni is right. The
young people elected the present government because they are hopeful and want to bring change and want to focus on development issues. "I do not believe that the youth do not have any capacity to influence decisionmaking," she said as the chief guest at a program at Sheraton Hotel on Saturday, June 12, 2010.
Young people are sceptical about politics in general and feel disillusioned. Politicians in Bangladesh rarely tell the entire truth. They usually concentrate on what they want to concentrate on, which aren't necessarily the same things that matter to ordinary people.
The decisions that the government makes affect everyone, but most of the time it's very hard to find any difference between any of the political parties, and people don't believe things will necessarily improve whoever comes to power. People want to believe that whoever is in government will actintheirbest interest, and take on board the issues that affect everyone.
According to the survey, young people in the country are happy, but a large portion of them would prefer to live abroad for education facilities and better job opportunities. If a country sees that its youth are migrating to countries that have more favourable policies for youth, it should be persuaded to make changes in its own policies.
For instance, thirty years ago, many South Koreans were seeking opportunities to live and work abroad. But now, it's very hard to recruit them to work at the World Bank outside of Korea. In India, in the past five years, there’s been a huge influx of highly skilled diaspora. As Indians, they are eager to have the opportunity to develop their careers in their own country.
For most young people in our country, the most important thing is that their education should be safe and free from volatile political
practices. As much as 36% of the respondents in the survey said they believed that student politics had a detrimental effect on educational institutions. Education in Bangladesh is being hijacked to serve gross political interests. The student affiliates of the major political parties have always had a major hand in the decades-long perverse politicking in Bangladesh.
There are plenty of issues they care about, like prospects of getting a job, securing free transport for young people, improving the benefit system, and improving the economy. They are very sensitive about politicians' false promises and their wrongdoings and criminal offences. Young people sometimes feel that the parties are trying to sell them their policies.
Bangladesh should establish economic policies that give young people more work opportunities. Industries that are heavily export-oriented, such as textiles and electronics, usually employ young people at about twice the rate of other industries. These are not always skilled jobs, but they provide employment for inexperienced young people who have fewer skills.
Many inexperienced Bangladeshi young people are working in the different industries throughout the world. On the other hand, there is also a high demand for young people in areas where creativity is valued.
There are 1.3 billion young people now living in the developing world -- the largest-ever youth group in history. The majority, almost 85%, of the world's youth live in developing countries, with approximately 60% in Asia alone. The next generation holds much promise for countries that adopt policies to ensure that their youth are better educated and healthier than previous generations.
According to the 2007 World Development Report, "Development and the Next Generation," record numbers of young people between the ages of 12 and 24 could give developing countries a big advantage over developed nations in the next generation, producing surging economic growth, and sharply reducing poverty.
In an effort to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of the world's youth in overcoming the challenges facing humankind, from enhancing peace to boosting economic development, the United Nations on December 18, 2009, proclaimed an International Year of Youth commencing on August 12.
The International Year is about advancing the full and effective participation of youth in all aspects of society. By 2025, the number of youth living in developing countries will grow to 89.5%.
Youth are the hope of the nation. They are the most energetic and productive segment of the population in Bangladesh. Therefore, our leaders should take youth issues into consideration in the development agenda, and focus their efforts to prepare and inspire the youngest in order to make the future changes in the society.
Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York. E-mail: Ripan.biswas@yahoo.com.