Unemployed and also excluded, youth can be a source of disruption

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said; “Young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow; they can play a leading role in the development of their communities today.” Let us hope that their good works today blossom into lifelong commitments that will benefit all the world’s people. Today’s youth are more connected to the world. Youth engagement in public life has direct economic, political, social, and cultural implications. Recent evidence shows positive interrelationship between their active citizen engagement and economic outcomes.

To benefit from young people’s capabilities, communities must ensure opportunities for the youth to be engaged in development processes. Failure to do so can lead to the exclusion and marginalisation of youth while depriving communities of their energy, dynamism and innovativeness. There is need to set up youth incubation centres to promote the development of a critical, active, responsible society.