Reflections on Empowering African Youth

"A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death.” —Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations”

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Photo by Barry Weatherall on Unsplash

Empowerment is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes. Youth empowerment is a systematic process of strengthening capacity to create and take advantage of opportunities to influence, shape, design, and contribute to policy processes and socio-economic development.

According to a World Bank Report: “Youth in Africa's Labour Market”, Sub-Saharan Africa is the most “youthful” place in the World, with over 28% of its population categorised as “youth”. Yet, about 20% of Africa’s young people are unemployed. On the one hand, they are a potential resource for sustainable economic growth and social development. However, they have also proven to be a source of social tension and conflict when left disengaged from the conditions necessary for their development as productive citizens.

The cumulative impact of the challenges facing Africa’s development growth is that young people are largely absent from decision-making processes and their contributions are often underestimated and underutilised.

Three significant societal dynamics have emerged over the last decade to complicate understandings of and policy responses to the youth bulge and empowerment in Africa. First, high levels of economic growth have not been accompanied by job creation. The formal sector’s limited capacity to absorb the growing youth population is linked to increasing inequalities and a growing and highly visible gap between the wealthy and the poor. Second, modernity and globalization have helped to transform the character of youth aspirations, increasing the gap between young peoples’ hopes and realities and further entrenching intergenerational differences in all areas of life.

How can the potential inherent in young people be better developed for Africa’s development, amid these challenges?

Youth Empowerment: What and Why?

Initiatives geared towards empowering youth must start from addressing basic questions on the traditional understanding of youth in the African context. In various African nations, the elderly are the most respected and cherished members of communities. The youth are often perceived as mediocre and full of misdirected exuberance. There is a belief that elderly members of the community possess the most “authentic” form of knowledge and skills that can benefit the community. Therefore, they have the authority to “speak up” and serve in leadership positions.

Statements such as “young people do not respect anymore,” “they talk and dress inappropriately,” “they are destroying our culture,” “they are lazy” are very common conversations. However, it is important the structural factors contributing to these behaviours are interrogated.

Young people in rapidly urbanising Africa have access to images and cultural products such as western films, global news media and fiction and non-fictional literature where they see young people in authoritative and leadership positions. These images propel youth in Africa to challenge the status quo as they seek to be part of decision-making processes.

This “energy” is often wrongly interpreted as misdirected bordering on disrespect, when in most instances, young Africans are just taking a stand that reflects their innate desire to contribute to the development of the continent.

In the past, speaking up was not encouraged. However, in these contemporary times, young people are breaking this barrier by making their voices heard through innovative channels like social media platforms, which are fast becoming the most potent channels for promoting youth engagement in governance processes.

Youth Empowerment: How?

Assess and document the degree of youth participation in governance processes in Africa: It is important to determine how active young people want to be. What are their most central desires and aspirations? We should not assume per se that young people are enthusiastic about participating in governance processes. There are “active” youth and “passive” youth from different socio economic backgrounds.

Youth organisations should initiate virtual and physical information and dialogue sessions with opinion leaders, captains of industry and policy makers: This will help explore the common ground for understanding youth participation in development processes. These platforms will help sensitise decision-makers on challenges with youth participation, a platform to “market” youth potential, and stimulate debate on these matters.

Youth organisations and activists should advocate and operationalise formal mentorship initiatives: Civil society, public and private sectors should provide formal mentorship opportunities for young people to engage in decision-making, lobbying and other leadership activities essential for strengthening participation in governance processes. These opportunities would sharpen and build leadership, relational and operational skills.