Wikipedia describes youth empowerment as a process where children and young people are encouraged to take charge of their lives by addressing specific situations and acessing resources and transforming their consciousness. Youth worldwide gain the ability and authority to make decisions and implement change in their individual lives and in society, as well as in the process. Therefore, encouraging youth to perform satisfactorily, achieve greatness, and make an inordinate impact on their society is a prioritized task of a country.
Youth empowerment can curb the rate of poverty to a large extent if and when harnessed meticulously. One of the key factors of empowerment is skill development. When a youth is equipped with essential skills, he or she can utilize such skills to assist others as valuable members of society. This will in turn contribute to the increase in employability and add to the development of the nation. Youth empowerment through social innovation and entrepreneurship has incredible potential to solve problems at a grassroots level if youth are given robust platforms to connect and act.
It is accepted that youth are the backbone of society. Their participation in all aspects of society is very important. Realising this fact, President Rajapaksa, in his national policy framework, gave high priority to harnessing youth. The President has pledged a viable and effective program to enable Sri Lanka’s youth to reach their full potential. He intends to create opportunities for the youth population to participate in political decision-making and to create extensive opportunities to thrive in entrepreneurship.
Sri Lanka is a country teeming with youth, with over 25% of the total population able to provide a substantial contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Hence, there is a dire need to empower them appropriately. Apart from the assigned government institutions for youth development, there are other politically affiliated entities that exist in the country, although their actual contribution is a question mark at this time.
Enthusiasm
Despite the enthusiasm of the leader, the Sri Lankan youth population strives for greatness in entrepreneurship. Even with a literacy rate of over 98%, they still struggle to find proper resources, specifically financial assistance, to move forward in entrepreneurship. With the skills, talents, and knowledge the Sri Lankan young population evidently possesses, the country can gain not only social prosperity but also social riches. Regrettably, despite the instructions repeated time and again by the leaders, the government institutions responsible are adopting sluggish attitudes on this important matter.
Social innovation is a compelling banner for youth to rally around. Creating inclusivity in entrepreneurship means providing unmatchable opportunities for the younger generation to engage in economic activities with aspirations. Opportunities should be provided to the youth of all socioeconomic backgrounds, identities, and professions, allowing them to recognise their own talents and knowledge.
The need to empower youth for a better future is connected to financial elevation and the improvement of social standards. Awareness is one of the most important factors in empowerment. A well-thought-out and properly prepared mechanism of guidance is imperative to provide a wholesome outlook.
Hence, the government, private sector organisations, and all other relevant entities come together to educate the youth on their respective roles in contributing to the national interest. They must be educated not only about economic prosperity, but also about other aspects of sustainability such as the environment, culture, social well-being, and so on. In-depth knowledge of youth-led sustainability solutions and entrepreneurialism is the country’s long-term future.
The core of youth empowerment is the belief in the capability of young people. When they are exposed to inspiring ideas and opportunities, their performance in whatever activity they are engaged in can produce incredible results. Hence, it is the responsibility of the adult population to provide them with the guidance, freedom, and tools to proceed. With proper direction and guidance, the youth will stand up for their values and build a foundation of self-empowerment. Usually, most often, they are capable of recalibrating themselves if and when required.
Criminal activities
Escalating criminal activities is a grave issue for the government and the public at large today. Many numbers of such activities are reported daily by the media. Even the callousness of some of these criminal activities is unbelievable. Youth empowerment is a certain remedy to curb the unlawful activities of young adults.
Young minds can easily get entrapped in anti-social activities if they are not empowered morally. Serious social consequences can emerge in society in the absence of moral values. A youth commits crimes when he is not supported morally, and often when the financial needs become unbearable. Right empowerment can enable a young mind to denounce the path of injustice.
Therefore, education is an extremely valuable ingredient in empowerment. By giving value to education, the standards of education can be improved tremendously. When students are trained and encouraged to learn responsibilities and skills at an early age, they strive to achieve prominence later in life as adults.
Youth participation is a component that is embodied in empowerment. The spirit of youth empowerment always remains in their ability and skills to influence their own destiny. Hence, equal opportunities for every young person must exist to acquire skills and knowledge through formal education, technical education, and training. The young must be given the opportunity and power to use their abilities, sources, and openings to actively participate in the decision-making process.
Sustainable economy
In order to build a sustainable economy, policymakers and the citizenry as a whole must portray the younger generation as the future. The tremendously over-used slogan “youth are the future of a country” has become politicized currently. The vibrant youth in the country are being used whenever an election is called on to perform political errands.
Some political parties, as a practice, manipulate youth, particularly those in universities, for narrow political gains. The leaders of such politicians mercilessly mislead young students from less affluent families to hold demonstrations and protests, depriving them of valuable time. The opinion of the general public is that this practice, only heard in Sri Lanka, has to be stopped at any cost.
Despite the fact that successive governments have made numerous proposals on self-employment and entrepreneurship, none of them have been implemented successfully as of yet.For example, despite the fact that various types of financial assistance and professional guidance were offered for business start-ups, none of them were implemented in practice.As mentioned, government institutions are lethargic about providing the required back up and the financial institutions request exorbitant collateral on business loans. The ground reality is that although verbal promises are plenty, actual support is almost non-existent. Therefore, the authorities must pay more attention to these ongoing issues.
The youth need to be allowed creative freedom to shape their lives with an acute awareness of the current conditions. Youth must be educated to inculcate values that help their own future and the future of the country as well. They are the only hope of redesigning and reshaping, revolutionizing the future of the country.
As discussed, youth can bring financial stability, eradicate poverty, raise education standards, and take society to new heights. However, as of now, access to some important resources they need to reach out to in order to transform their vision into reality is unavailable at the expected levels.
Various schemes, plans, and policies introduced from time to time are not sufficient to achieve anticipated goals. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, Sri Lankan youth have amply displayed their skills, knowledge, creativity, and innovative thinking by devising various materials, equipment, and even medically important devices. Regrettably, with time, almost all of those were forgotten by the authorities.
If the country can support their views by empowering them to make decisions, the expected changes in the socioeconomic situation are not far off. Hence, it’s time for everyone concerned to look at empowering youth from a more vibrant perspective.