A friend mentioned the wiki of the Speak Africa UNICEF conference he attended several months ago, and being a curious little bugger I ended up (1) wishing I could read Portuguese and French, and (2) reading the opening speech, the only thing there posted fully in English.
It appears to have been given by a young speaker, and it's fantastic, even in (what I think is) translation. Young people demanding, not to be treated as adults as a privilege, but requesting that they be asked to share in the burdens and responsibilities of the society they are poised to inherit. Young people calling not for action, but for access to tools so that they themselves can take action.
First of all our participation is not just about making speeches and resolutions at big international meetings. A speech on its own is just decoration and nothing more unless it is a part of a wider participation in our countries. How many children and young people in our towns and villages are participating? ...who takes young people truly and seriously...
The African Youth Charter with many more resolutions was accepted by all our Heads of State in 2006 and we thank them for that. But how many young people in our countries know that there is an African Youth Charter. It is now being ratified at country level. How many young people even know what it says so that they can talk to their leaders about what they expect from it...
Stop being afraid of us, give us the space and see what we can do. Then instead of us always demanding from you, you can hold us accountable. If we want accelerated progress in our countries, give it to the people who can run the fastest...
Why cannot we set up such structures, such as children’s parliaments and local councils to do this on a regular basis? Unless this happens, we will come here for Cairo +10 and we will make another set of resolutions which look exactly like all the other resolutions we have been making ever since we were born. And another group of young people will make the same demands...
And we are saying that our sisters and brothers are the best people to be the solutions. We the youth, know where the problems lie... we can show where and why groups of children and young people have been forgotten...
Unless this happens, we will come here for Cairo +10 and we will make another set of resolutions which look exactly like all the other resolutions we have been making ever since we were born. And another group of young people will make the same demands... So we say once more, no more resolutions until we give the solutions to all these resolutions. No more resolutions until you recognize us as the solutions and give us the power to be the solutions.
I want to shake their hand. I'd also love to meet the folks behind the Kabataan News Network (KNN), a television show written, filmed, reported, researched, edited - everything - by youth in the Philippines. Yes, their website is the antithesis of accessibility (woo, Flash) but still, awesome idea. Why shouldn't high school students get to cover more than home basketball games?
Thanks to the increasing length of compulsory (and then expected post-compulsory) education, a student of 22 is still often considered to be an immature and inexperienced child whereas centuries ago a person 9 years their junior would be considered an adult. At least that's what I've been reading for years, so it's fascinating to see the pebbles cascading in the other direction (as they have many times before, but I think the tiny footfalls heralds the start of an eventual avalanche).
Ah, the sound of a generation coming of age.