Engaging Young People Leads to Transformative Change

I was born in Livingstone, the tourist capital of Zambia. From an early age, I have marvelled at the idea that we young people will eventually replace my parents’ generation; we will become the adults, working professionals, and leaders of our communities, our countries and even the world.

I have always believed that young people have the power to change the narrative around meaningful youth engagement. Not only because of what the research tells us about the importance of giving young people a voice in public dialogue, but also because I have experienced first-hand and witnessed how it truly does lead to transformative change. More than 60 percent of the global population is young people, and every young person has the right to participate in issues that affect them. As Robert F. Kennedy once said, “This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.”

In 2016, I decided to apply for the role of Mastercard Foundation Youth Think Tank Member under Restless Development. Their mission is to engage young people and treat them as critical partners in helping to solve the pressing challenges of today and tomorrow. This mission and its research resonates with me so completely because many problems require the input of young people. These include unemployment; a lack of information on agricultural technologies and innovations; insufficient skills, needed to uptake or maximize agricultural innovations; and limited access to capital and finance.

One of the most perplexing findings of the research was that young people do not have adequate access to information about innovations and technology in the agricultural sector. This makes the process of growing the sector much slower, despite its potential for growth. Of the few that do have access to information about innovation and technology, many lack the necessary skills to take advantage of them. To address this gap, key stakeholders should invest in wraparound skills for technology users, which would let them take full advantage of ownership and increase uptake. The 2017-2018 Youth Think Tank report asks policy makers, civil society and other stakeholders, to put resources together and engage young people to participate and grow this sector.

Being on the Youth Think Tank (YTT) over the past 12 months has been mind-blowing. I have learned how to conduct research; everything from creating a methodology and collecting and analyzing data to validating findings and writing the final report. I have also learned good oratory and leadership skills through my participation in high-level meetings where I represented the Youth Think Tank. In June 2017, I was given the opportunity to travel to New York to participate as a youth judge at RTI International’s Ideathon on Global Youth Unemployment. At this two-day event, I was able to exercise my expertise around meaningful youth engagement and select the best ideas that could potentially help deal with youth unemployment globally.

Further, since becoming a YTT member I have been selected by the Skoll Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation as an Emerging Leader 2018, under the Emerging Leaders Initiative. This will see me speak at the Skoll World Forum in Oxford this April. Because of my experience on the Youth Think Tank, I have also recently been selected by Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute as a National Youth Research Consultant for the ACT!2030 Project. What an opportune time for young people to lead projects and develop skills around subjects they are passionate about.

This entire experience has given me an ongoing inquisitiveness around matters that involve young people, and I will share my new knowledge and skills with other young people. I envision an Africa where young people are aware and take advantage of the opportunities around them. I plan on going to graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in public policy and global affairs, as I would like to play a role in creating policies that favour young people and our development. I believe we are the only hope when it comes to making both Africa and the world great.