Youth and Ideology

The youth are now more conscious than ever before. We hear everything. We see it all. We think about issues that you may not know we do. We feel connected to a wide range of subjects. We know a lot about stuff. And we seek out knowledge more ardently than we may let on. The youth are not an ignorant bunch.

Society has set too many highs in life for us to chase. Money, technology and its gadgets, fame. And we love this way of life. In fact, we are always at a loss trying to comprehend that there ever was a different way. We know there was a time before telephones and before the internet was here, when life was ‘simpler’. And we are glad that we exist in this time, not before. See, this lifestyle is not forced on us by society. Which society? We are society.

Youth are no the leaders of tomorrow. We know that both the present and the future are ours to influence. We are eager to find a purpose and live it out. A lot is wrong in society; we are hungry to make a change. We thirst to chart our way and leave a mark for future generations. We are more alive now in all aspects of life, even though established regimes and bureaucracies tend to have little to no room for us, be it in the economic sectors or the political. A majority of the entrepreneurs who control our economies today got their feet in as youths. The politicians that we often dismiss as old folks drunk with power, are only that in deep because they took their first bite in their youthful days. Hence we know it is a fallacy to expect that they will hand over that which they worked hard for. We are ready to jump into the ring and compete for our place within and at the top.

The youth are not an ignorant bunch. Take a look at how radical we are, radical in all extremes. Often this is attributed to ‘brainwash’. I refute that. Our choices are our own. We have beliefs and ideologies that we hold as dear as life itself. And ideologies are in their nature quite often radical and extremely intoxicating. I admit that too often some of the ideologies held by a fair number amongst us are misinformed and illogical. And some of us are unconscious to these radical ideologies, until they put to test.

As youth, especially in Africa, we are faced with a lot of injustice and economic imbalances. Many among us still lack basic education and the resources to create a better alternative. Still, we use the opportunities we have, the networks at our disposal and the support we receive. We are creating the Africa we want. Simply look at all the social innovations and entrepreneurship projects initiated everyday. We are ready to do something about the challenges we face, because we don’t just want a better tomorrow, we insist on a better today.

So where do we start? By understanding and acknowledging who we are. The truth is that both a society and an individual are defined by their history. We can never move forward without first realizing where we are coming from, where we are going and where got stuck.

THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

Transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the Sustainable Development Goals

The millennium development goals were a set of ambitious goals developed at the turn of this century, by the United Nations Secretary General’s office. They were then presented to the member nations of the UN, were tasked with making steps towards their achievement, in the pursuit of meaningful development.

The operational years of these goals was set at fifteen years, at the end of which countries ought to have reached the goal posts. That is, from the year 2000 until 2015.

The 8 Millennium Development Goals

1.     Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

2.     Achieve universal primary education.

3.     Promote gender equality and empower women.

4.     Reduce child mortality.

5.     Improve maternal health.

6.     Combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases.

7.     Ensure environmental sustainability.

8.     Develop a global partnership for development.

A lot of laudable efforts were made and the world has made many development advances in the past fifteen years owing to projects and partnerships inspired by the MDGs. However, there has been uneven progress across goals and targets.

Assessing Progress

Basic education has become more accessible to a wider population. This has been enabled by building of more schools and either subsidizing cost of primary education in most third world countries.

Poverty and hunger have yet to be eradicated. Despite the impressive development goals achieved thus far, and the growth in the world economy, a staggering 12.7% of the world's population are today living below the poverty line[1]. The gap between the rich and the poor has also continued to increase.

HIV/AIDs, though still incurable, has been better managed and its spread greatly curbed through various efforts. Medication for those ailing is being availed free of charge. Malaria has been well managed over the years, through preventive measures and developing and availing quality medication.

Environmental conservation has been at the forefront of many development projects. It must however be acknowledged, that this is among the goals with the least progress due to the reactionary, rather that preventive nature of most conservation efforts employed thus far.

Maternal health has improved and child mortality rates have reduced in a number of countries. There are however still diverse disparities within and across countries, especially in the third world.

Gender equality has greatly improved. More girls have access to education and economic opportunities than previously. In addition, women rights are now recognized as human rights, even though there are places where implementation is still lagging.

                                                     

The Millennium Development Goals have not been fully achieved. Why SDG's then?

The time-line set for achievement of the MDG's has expired; their achievement is still far off. It would perhaps appear reasonable to extend the time-line. However, that would also include dragging along the challenges and setbacks experienced.

To ensure that the succeeding development agenda is adequately addressed, it became necessary to shift from previous approaches. The new approach included taking into account the emerging gaps in the implementation of development projects.

Therefore, there have been five major transformational shifts in the formulation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda:

i.       Leave no one behind.

ii.     Put sustainable development at the core.

iii.   Transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth.

iv.   Build peace and effective, open and accountable institutions for all.

v.     Forge a new global partnership.

This approach will boost the clamour to end extreme poverty; Halt climate change and environmental degradation; Diversify economies and accessibility of resources; Promote peace and good governance, and build societies free from fear, conflict or violence; and Enhance solidarity, cooperation and mutual accountability.

---

[1] http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview