Youth Contribution: Taking The Reins Of The Future

“Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. And it is the youth who must inherit the tribulation, the sorrow, and the triumphs that are the aftermath of war” — Herbert Hoover.

This quote rings true in the face of continued unrest across various parts of the world. But unfortunately, young people are often vulnerable and susceptible to unwillingly participating in violence. As such, they are often a targeted group during the conflict, as seen by their massive representation in extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Taliban, and Jihadists, to name but a few.

Youth, women, and children are often the worst hit in the event of a crisis, as witnessed in the ongoing attacks in Ukraine. Moreover, regional politics, more often than not, play an integral role in resolving the complexities of the conflict. Therefore, rallying peace dialogue with leaders from affected countries is key to mitigating the effects of political instability.

The Institute for Economics and Peace launched the 16th edition of the Global Peace Index, validating that peacefulness has reached its lowest level in 15 years due to the global pandemic as well as the conflict in Ukraine. Furthermore, it attested to the militarization decline in 113 countries since 2008 despite all recent commitments resulting in a loss of $16.5 trillion in 2021, equivalent to 10.9% of the global GDP or $2,117 per person.

Young people today encounter greater and more unique challenges. Economic strife, insecurity, corruption, poor education systems, and unemployment often push youth to seek better opportunities abroad. According to the 2022 Africa Youth survey released by Ichikowitz Family Foundation (IFF), it is estimated that more than half of the youth aged between 18 and 23 are likely to consider emigrating in the next three years if their government does nothing to improve their quality of life.

Globally, approximately 214 million people - or 3.1 percent of the world’s population - are international migrants, while 740 million migrate within borders. According to the World Bank, about a third of the migrant flow from all developing countries are young people between 12 and 24 years of age. In addition, the number includes millions of children below 18 years who migrate with their parents or alone.

The global report on Internal Displacement 2022 revealed that 33 million internally displaced people are under 25 and around 25.2 million under 18 due to conflict, disasters, and violence in 104 countries and territories as of 31 December 2021.

With youth occupying one-quarter of the world’s population, they are a dominant force now and, in the decades, to come. Yet, despite representing the largest group of young people with such a demographic boom globally, they are currently dealing with the largest unemployment crisis at an all-time high. Moreover, the issue of unemployment has been a ripple effect of many underlying issues globally, including but not limited to skills mismatch, automation of jobs, and most recently, the COVID19 pandemic.

Although Africa has the lowest unemployment rate globally on paper among youth ages 15 to 24 (10.6 percent in 2021, according to the International Labor Organization). Most of Africa’s youth work informally, and many are underemployed or remain in poverty despite working due to low wages and the lack of a social safety net, making it challenging to compare African countries to more advanced economies.

The African Development Bank reports that while 10 million to 12 million youth enter the workforce in Africa each year, only 3 million formal jobs are created annually. Yet, African youth have no choice but to work because most countries on the continent have little or no social protection.

Although youth and Children have contributed the least to global warming and the current climate crisis, they should be the ones paying the highest price and suffering the consequences.

Research conducted by Save the Children showed that children born in the past year would face seven times more scorching heat waves than their grandparents, and newborns across the globe will, on average, live through 2.6 times more droughts. Angelique Orr, the director of campaigns for Save the Children, expressed her excitement about youth taking the lead in addressing climate issues and voicing their concerns. She called out global organizations to support them and amplify their voices.