Introductory Presentation: Youth and Social Development

Ms. FAMA HANE BA
UNFPA AFRICA DIRECTOR

17 November 2006

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dear Youth Participants
Colleagues and friends from the UN Family
Ladies and gentlemen

African youth, thank-you for coming here and for granting us this great opportunity to listen to you, to learn from your pressing needs, aspirations for Africa, for your respective countries, your communities and indeed for yourselves. It is, therefore, a joyous occasion for UNFPA to be part of the ADF.
In addressing the issue of Youth and Social Development, I would like to first start by underlining the obvious premise that we all know. First, within an enabling environment, people can achieve complete fulfilment of their aspirations. Needless to say, there is no meaningful development without social progress and there is no social progress without the development and empowerment of youth.
Second, as we all know there are a myriad of interplaying factors that have contributed to the prevailing African reality of abject poverty, inequalities, health problems, including teenage pregnancy and the unabated spread of sexually transmitted infections, especially HIV. Obviously, economic policies and programmes require strong human capital and effective social policies and programmes,

Given the broad spectrum of social factors that influence youth development, allow me to focus only on four inter-related and mutually reinforcing points: These are: (i) The Family, (ii) Rights, Responsibility and Choice, (iii) Investing in Youth and Equal Opportunity; and (iv) Youth Leadership.

The Family
As we all know, the family has been recognized as the prime and natural sanctuary which should assist and protect its members, particularly children and youth; it has been responsible for instilling in youth the core values of rights and responsibilities and the ideals of justice and solidarity. We also know that the family has the main responsibility for transmitting the type of intergenerational relations and cultural heritage, including spiritual growth. Thus, there is no doubt, that it would be difficult to conceive social and youth development without deliberate and adequate safeguarding of the well being of individual members of the family. Notwithstanding this critical role and despite the resilience and the demonstrated ability of the African Family to cope with the impact of change, we know that the dramatic socio-economic and political developments in Africa have greatly undermined the ability of the majority of families to meet the basic needs of its members. This is to say nothing about the challenges of providing adequate nurturing and preparing its children, its adolescents and its youth for productive and responsible parenthood and citizenship.

While such an outcome could not be totally dependent on or expected only from the family, there is no question as to the crucial need to strengthen the African family, place it at the center of development concerns and promote intergenerational communication, understanding and partnership.

Rights, Responsibility and Choice
We all believe that upholding the fundamental principles of human rights, dignity, and the worth of human beings is critical for social development. Thus, social development in general and youth empowerment in particular can achieve the protection and guarantee the rights of young people, especially of girls and young women. This also means providing youth with informed choice on matters that affect their lives. International instruments expressed in CEDAW, ICPD, the Beijing Platform of Action, and the MDGs have reaffirmed these principles. The active promotion of genuine youth participation and involvement in the process of community and national development is crucial. Moreover, one must endeavor to ensure that youth understand their rights and obligations and receive the necessary support to exercise and safeguard their rights. Given that today’s children are tomorrow’s adolescents, and the latter are tomorrow’s youth, I would like to reiterate the significance of protecting the rights of the mother and child and the provision of measures to safeguard the health and welfare of women.

Equal Opportunity and Investing in Youth
Here, I would like to reiterate what is crystal clear - that equal opportunity for girls and boys will certainly contribute not only to a more just society but also to the acceleration of social and economic development. This requires adequate investment in youth and the protection of children. This means equal opportunity and access to quality education, quality health services, including sexual and reproductive health and prevention of HIV, as well as skills development for youth (ie. both life-skills and market-oriented skills). In addition, what is critical is employment generation especially for young females and ensuring that their education is not disrupted for pregnancy or childbirth reasons. Cleary, efforts need to be intensified for the prevention of early marriage, early pregnancy and traditional practices that violate the rights of girls and damage their lives. In this regard, it is encouraging to know that many African countries have adopted back-to-school policies for such cases.

We have learned from our own experiences and those of others such as the Asian experience, on the dividends earned from investing in social development and in young people. Just imagine the engine of growth that could emerge if priority investment is made in the development and empowerment of African youth. The demographics of Africa speak for themselves!

Therefore, we must give top priority to ensuring that African youth effectively participate in decision making processes and programmes. By harnessing young people’s energy, creativity and openness to ideas, Africa’s socio-economic challenges can be tackled and the pace of progress towards achieving the MDGs could be accelerated. It is therefore crucial for national leaders and governments to create a conducive and enabling environment that makes youth development and empowerment a reality. In this context I would also like us to consider deliberating on youth volunteerism and exchange programs within and across the African continent.

Leadership
The theme of this ADF, “Youth Leadership in the 21st Century “, is indeed timely. We all know that Africa continues to face enormous challenges along with tremendous opportunities. Addressing the over-arching challenges of poverty, HIV/AIDS, gender inequality and their consequences, requires not only individual and collective actions but also committed leadership at all levels. In this regard, youth leadership in particular has become more crucial than ever. Of course, we all have some idea of the fundamental traits of leadership. For instance, we know leadership is not about a position and it certainly is not an end in itself but a means to achieving a goal. We also know that it is about the ability to prompt oneself and others and taking advantage of opportunities, or turning challenges into opportunities. We also know that everyone has the capacity for leadership but only those who cultivate it become effective leaders.

Therefore the challenge is how to forge effective youth leadership by preparing and supporting them to become agents of positive change and proactive participants in shaping their future and the future of others. We must therefore create, nurture and sustain an enabling environment for youth development that empowers youth and harnesses their leadership potential. But what is takes to create enabling conditions is no secret. It is therefore the obligation of national governments and the society as a whole to create opportunity for youth to serve and improve their communities.
As a follow-up to this ADF, I sincerely hope that we all re-commit ourselves to intensify our efforts and our response to the needs of youth in a holistic manner and by implementing the action expressed in the Africa Youth Charter launched yesterday. I also hope that our partnership with youth will be renewed and further strengthened. In this regard, I assure you that the UN family will continue to support youth leadership initiatives.

To conclude I would like to encourage you to exercise your leadership by putting as a priority on your agenda 1) the advocacy for the ratification of the Africa Youth Charter, 2) widely disseminate the content of the Africa Youth Charter, and 3) contribute and take leadership in the development/revision of national youth policies through advocacy and dialogue with government and other stakeholders (community and religious leaders). Involve yourselves in initiatives of conflict prevention and peace building including reaching out to the most vulnerable youth who often end up as child soldiers and give them hope. Contribute to breaking the vicious cycle of dependence by engaging the youth in volunteerism and taking self-responsibility for the future of our continent.
In the break-out sessions, I am sure you will deliberate on these issues and come out with priority concrete actions that we can achieve together.
We count on your guidance, and I thank you for your attention.