When you put youth together in one space, you are certain to experience an extraordinary force, united, divided in opinion and resolve and so on. You are sure to experience explosive dynamism at its best.
This was the mood in Africamp 2011 held in Manzini Swaziland despite the chilly weather. Many African countries were represented, but on learning that Tunisia was also represented, it was inevitable that the expectations of many during Africamp were Tunisia’s lessons in democratic transition.
For many, Tunisia was a revolution fuelled by the ardent utilization of social networking sites. This is the weapon of the war against corrupt regimes in this day and age if you ask me.
On the first day of presentations, messages, comments and contributions from participants resounded the need for change, especially for the Swazi regime, to allow multi-party democracy and do away with the monarchy type of government.
…… “My mother was a kitchen girl; my father was a garden boy, that’s why I’m a socialist….” These are the words of a song popular amongst Swazi youth. It is one out of many that Swazi youth use to resonate their feelings and criticizing the government for oppressing its people and not promoting freedom of expression.
But in as much as there is a common need for taking responsibility and turning things around, irrespective of the fact that it may be silent, the message was that of “Things must change.” The Tunisians put it clearly “Dictators must go!”
In my opinion, I concur that change is inevitable. We all know that poor leadership translates into poor governance, un-equality, un-equal sharing of resources, corruption and in the case of Rwanda, the genocide that claimed the lives of a million innocent people. God forbid, we do not want to see another genocide in Africa. The methods used in 1994 to liberate Rwanda and stop the mass massacres may not be applicable now, but maybe this is why we have digital tools that can help us put change into motion. So the youth are lucky and what they need to do is simply put their speech into practice. The major question is that of sustainability, how we put into action all we have said in a meaningful manner.
Another important aspect that came out of Africamp is the issues of planning and setting clear, understandable strategies for change based on the fact that effective planning and strategizing is the basic ingredient of post-change eras. Democratically electing leaders who will implement these plans and strategies.
Again, democracy, as was defined in the many definitions raised is the right of citizens to vote for leaders of their choice. So this brings up the question, how significant is the power of the vote?
In African societies, we have seen leaders taking advantage of the youth with as little as a bottle of beer for a vote and or wooing the rural illiterate with a sack of maize for a vote.
This simply means that the educated youth, who have defined everything technically should also inform and educate the rural illiterate who are misled by these our leaders. One of the group discussions highlighted how difficult it is to educate our people about human rights, how difficult it is to simplify issues for the local population. This again raises the question of understanding. Youth understanding what they are advocating for whether it is the rights of the disabled, women and girls or even homosexuals and what impact it has on them. It is meaningless to come up with good concept papers and strategies that cannot be understood and implemented.
Then came HIV/AIDS, does the sound of it still make people shudder? Maybe, maybe not. One of the group exercises in form of skits played out many scenarios experienced in our daily lives. Those who still shy away from the issue of HIV/AIDS, those who have ceased to care, those who have heard enough, and those who still want to make a difference. Then again, we cannot pretend that AIDS doesn’t exist; we know full well that AIDS is wiping out the youth left, right and centre in Africa stimulated by the reckless trends youth have adopted across the continent.
All in all, after discussion, debate, song and dance, the common understanding is that youth are the catalyst of change and if we do not take the bull by the horns then lamenting will continue to be the order of the day. We need to be part of the change we want to see in our countries. We need to come back to Swaziland and hear the youth sing a different song.
http://www.idebate.org/africamp/
This was the mood in Africamp 2011 held in Manzini Swaziland despite the chilly weather. Many African countries were represented, but on learning that Tunisia was also represented, it was inevitable that the expectations of many during Africamp were Tunisia’s lessons in democratic transition.
For many, Tunisia was a revolution fuelled by the ardent utilization of social networking sites. This is the weapon of the war against corrupt regimes in this day and age if you ask me.
On the first day of presentations, messages, comments and contributions from participants resounded the need for change, especially for the Swazi regime, to allow multi-party democracy and do away with the monarchy type of government.
…… “My mother was a kitchen girl; my father was a garden boy, that’s why I’m a socialist….” These are the words of a song popular amongst Swazi youth. It is one out of many that Swazi youth use to resonate their feelings and criticizing the government for oppressing its people and not promoting freedom of expression.
But in as much as there is a common need for taking responsibility and turning things around, irrespective of the fact that it may be silent, the message was that of “Things must change.” The Tunisians put it clearly “Dictators must go!”
In my opinion, I concur that change is inevitable. We all know that poor leadership translates into poor governance, un-equality, un-equal sharing of resources, corruption and in the case of Rwanda, the genocide that claimed the lives of a million innocent people. God forbid, we do not want to see another genocide in Africa. The methods used in 1994 to liberate Rwanda and stop the mass massacres may not be applicable now, but maybe this is why we have digital tools that can help us put change into motion. So the youth are lucky and what they need to do is simply put their speech into practice. The major question is that of sustainability, how we put into action all we have said in a meaningful manner.
Another important aspect that came out of Africamp is the issues of planning and setting clear, understandable strategies for change based on the fact that effective planning and strategizing is the basic ingredient of post-change eras. Democratically electing leaders who will implement these plans and strategies.
Again, democracy, as was defined in the many definitions raised is the right of citizens to vote for leaders of their choice. So this brings up the question, how significant is the power of the vote?
In African societies, we have seen leaders taking advantage of the youth with as little as a bottle of beer for a vote and or wooing the rural illiterate with a sack of maize for a vote.
This simply means that the educated youth, who have defined everything technically should also inform and educate the rural illiterate who are misled by these our leaders. One of the group discussions highlighted how difficult it is to educate our people about human rights, how difficult it is to simplify issues for the local population. This again raises the question of understanding. Youth understanding what they are advocating for whether it is the rights of the disabled, women and girls or even homosexuals and what impact it has on them. It is meaningless to come up with good concept papers and strategies that cannot be understood and implemented.
Then came HIV/AIDS, does the sound of it still make people shudder? Maybe, maybe not. One of the group exercises in form of skits played out many scenarios experienced in our daily lives. Those who still shy away from the issue of HIV/AIDS, those who have ceased to care, those who have heard enough, and those who still want to make a difference. Then again, we cannot pretend that AIDS doesn’t exist; we know full well that AIDS is wiping out the youth left, right and centre in Africa stimulated by the reckless trends youth have adopted across the continent.
All in all, after discussion, debate, song and dance, the common understanding is that youth are the catalyst of change and if we do not take the bull by the horns then lamenting will continue to be the order of the day. We need to be part of the change we want to see in our countries. We need to come back to Swaziland and hear the youth sing a different song.
http://www.idebate.org/africamp/
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