It's impossible not to discuss the protests in Egypt that aim to oust President Hosni Mubarak and the link to Tunisia's protests that overthrew the government of President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali. When there is a delicate balance of unrest and order in a country, all it takes is a single act of defiance in the face of injustice to tip the scales towards revolution.
In Tunisia, it was the actions of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26 year-old produce merchant. His defiance in the face of repeated humiliation ignited the seeds of change for an uprising after being mistreated by local police officials for over a decade. An action, like Mohamed Bouazizi's, that was visible and poignant becomes a foundation on which others can bind together and take a stand. The Tunisian's were successful in expressing their dissatisfaction, wish for freedom and shift in the government. They have won back the press; newspapers are now printing without Ben Ali's photo for the first time in over twenty years.
Egyptian youth are pushing hard for a shift to occur. Youth activist, Ahmed Maher, discusses how the youth are organizing without a leader through the internet and cell phones states that, "young activists are fired up, and they have no allegiances to anything but change." Corruption, unemployment and a weak middle class are all contributing to the anger that the people feel towards the government. The protests give many Egyptians around the world hope that they will see an Egypt that they dream of. Waseem Wagdi, an Egyptian protester outside of the Egyptian Embassy in London, says that these protests give all human beings "hope for a more humane society."
I stand in support of the Egyptian protests to usher in a new era that supports the vision that the youth hold for a more free and just society. Actions in both Tunisia and Egypt demonstrate that when you have the will and the vision to move forward and the tools to enable action, the collective voice of citizens carries a great power.
Will the actions in these two countries inspire uprisings elsewhere? Is there a way to move towards a greater collective vision for equality, freedom and peace without the violence?
20 January 2011
Youth Engagement in Pakistan - How does this inform U.S. youth engagement?
Being in the process of a learning curve, I am in the process of looking for examples of youth engagement in projects that positively impact communities. I found an interesting article called "Social development: Tapping youth creativity for effective solutions." Taking place this week in Islamabad, Pakistan is the Regional Youth Symposium: Youth in Action for Global Change intending to "understand key questions on youth participation."
I'm interested in the follow up to this event. How are the youth being engaged? Are youth part of the group deciding upon a youth engagement strategy? To what extent does the country want the youth engaged? I wonder how this plays out in political engagement.
Seeing the efforts in Pakistan makes me curious to learn whether there are opportunities like this in the U.S. So often elected officials call out the youth and claim their support of younger generations, but with low youth voter turnout I wonder how many young people feel engaged? From my own conversations, it sounds like a percentage of the youth do not vote because poll operating time conflict with work schedules and commutes. I think for many, they do not feel adequately represented so they do not show up.
I remember being in my earlier teens and wishing I could vote. I was engaged in the content and wanted my voice to be counted. One of the first exercises I remember from first grade was a workbook about the 1992 election between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Even then I had an opinion.
Do you have any pros and cons to share about having a younger voting age? I think it would get youth engaged at an earlier age in the decision making process about those who govern.
I'm interested in the follow up to this event. How are the youth being engaged? Are youth part of the group deciding upon a youth engagement strategy? To what extent does the country want the youth engaged? I wonder how this plays out in political engagement.
Seeing the efforts in Pakistan makes me curious to learn whether there are opportunities like this in the U.S. So often elected officials call out the youth and claim their support of younger generations, but with low youth voter turnout I wonder how many young people feel engaged? From my own conversations, it sounds like a percentage of the youth do not vote because poll operating time conflict with work schedules and commutes. I think for many, they do not feel adequately represented so they do not show up.
I remember being in my earlier teens and wishing I could vote. I was engaged in the content and wanted my voice to be counted. One of the first exercises I remember from first grade was a workbook about the 1992 election between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Even then I had an opinion.
Do you have any pros and cons to share about having a younger voting age? I think it would get youth engaged at an earlier age in the decision making process about those who govern.
18 January 2011
Putting more power in the hands of youth
Many joyous greetings from us to you for 2011! With the new year comes a flurry of new ideas. The one I'm focusing on right now is an initiative called New England Youth Connect (NEYC). NEYC intends to pull together a diverse group of youth from all over New England to positively contribute to local and regional problem solving. It is an online place where the youth voice can be expressed and shared in a unified manner to strengthen local communities. I intend this to be a model that can be used in other regions of the country and eventually other regions of the globe. Does this sound like a project you're interested in? Any suggestions or learning from your own experience that can help inform this work?
Through my life experience (I'm 24 currently), I have found that youth (people between the ages of 14 - 34) have great passion and ideas for improving the world we live in. Due to having less experience in the constraints and barriers that exist, their ideas are unencumbered, collaborative and creative. I keep hearing in the news and from adults that we need to run things differently. Yet, the people who run this country seem to use the same ideas over and over again (Einstein's definition of insanity) and expect our broken systems to work. Too often it seems like massive funds are being used in a band-aid approach - fixing the symptom, not the root cause. I think it's time for us to employ our creative brain power and ability to create new solutions to make some headway in creating the society we envision.
How do we youth wish to impact our society and country? How can we connect to foster creative dialogue that will help solve local, regional and nationwide problems? How can groups of youth from a diverse variety of backgrounds be supported to share their ideas in a forum that results in these ideas taking root? How can we share our collective voice to move our society to one that creates an environment where all youth (and everyone else!) get their basic needs met (healthy food, a good education, health care, supportive community) and finds their place in the world where their skills and passions intersect?
I aim to first try this in New England and find groups of youth and youth-supportive adults and elders who are interested in these questions and passionate about getting involved. I'm curious to know in which areas youth feel passionate to collaborate.
Do you know a youth or youth group who would be interested in exploring this idea? Know an adult or elder who has youth connections or a passion in supporting the youth?
How do we as the youth of envision our communities? How do we see ourselves acting as a global citizen?
I see this project growing organically and being created out of the engaged communities in New England. All input is welcome. More to come!
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