Youth, the key to our future; pragmatic ways to make the youth productive

The youth of today will be the leaders, managers, scholars of tomorrow. We have to help prepare them to become productive members of society, to develop and use their talents. There are various multilateral (e.g UNICEF, UNESCO) and bilateral programs geared to such purposes in the developing countries, where often efforts have to be geared to the basic needs before the educational needs can be considered. Nonetheless the basic needs can be addressed as well as the educational needs as such. Recipients are to receive food assistance along with educational assistance. More importantly, local initiatives could be set up with private sector entities working in cooperation with public entities and benevolent entities (national and international). An example to emulate is that of the Simon Youth Foundation (www.simon.com) which is a non-profit entity. SYF operates education resource centers creating a tradition of educational excellence in a nontraditional setting providing opportunities to youth to acquire marketable job skills; the plus factor seems to come from the nontraditional setting. SYF also provides opportunities for the youth to learn about violence prevention, understanding diversity and tolerance as vital ingredients of society; they learn how to become mediators, conciliators and leaders for peace in their schools and communities. The whole point is to think about imaginative ways and means to help youth make a difference in their lives and to become productive members of their communities.

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