Young People Hold the Key to Current Problems

We have an opportunity to take a seismic leap forward in how we view young people.

A vast untapped pool of ideas, innovation and enthusiasm lies patiently in waiting but with growing frustration. Instead of opening up the corridors of commentary, debate and decision-making to a dynamic new generation of thinkers and leaders (35% of the population is under 25) ireland remains shackled to the fading authority of industry, politics and religion. While each of these traditional pillars is rapidly losing credibility, they still call the shots.

Everyone agrees it’s crisis season in ireland and abroad. From health care to housing, and banking to the environment, the outlook seems bleak. As our leaders stumble in search of solutions to problems they themselves helped create, the lack of fresh thinking and ideas is worrying.

Take the current economic debate. We are at the country’s greatest turning point in almost a century, uncertainty rules and tensions are rising. People want leadership, they want vision. Instead our greying government tries to placate us with vague proclamations of ‘working together’ and 'sharing the pain'.

Condemnations, cheap shots and criticisms aren’t scarce as the ‘I told you so’ brigade muster for position in what constitutes ireland’s political and social opposition base. However now isn’t the time for point scoring. It is a time for constructive debate and dialogue, where we must articulate and realise alternative visions for the future.

As the Celtic Tiger joins O’Leary in the grave, it is our younger generation that will build a new country from the lessons of our turbulent history. To do this they must be given the opportunities and conditions to do so. They must be supported and nurtured and given guidance when needed.

Instead what is happening is that this ‘generation now’, as some have mockingly dubbed them, are being disregarded as being either utopian, thuggish or spoilt mé féiners. Such marginalisation ignores the harsh situation facing this generation.

The realities posed by further education fees, a youth unemployment rate of 21%, thousands enslaved to negative equity mortgages and the return of emigration are casting a shadow over young ireland. In addition to this we have an urbanised generation that was groomed for consumerism (which was good for the economy after all) and who have been ironically condemned for landing us amongst the highest European levels of binge drinking, drug use, obesity, teenage pregnancy and suicide.

Shop keepers, sometimes encouraged by local politicians, employ pest control ‘mosquito’ devices aimed at teenagers and the media wages a daily war on ‘anti-social’ hoody wearing ‘youths’, adding fuel to a generational gap where the nation’s young people are often branded as being ‘worse than animals’.

All of this takes place in the context of strained family structures, little or no sexual health education in schools and alarming gaps in youth health services. The outlook ahead is for further funding cuts to youth organisations and community groups and a situation that leaves young people hanging out in the streets or online, exposed to the risks of alcohol, drugs, sex, crime and commercialism.

If there is a crisis within youth culture then we must surely ask ourselves how this came about and who is responsible? If young people have turned out ‘anti-social’, then surely this is a reflection of failing parenting, schooling, health and social provision? If young people are failing, then surely it is Irish society that has failed them.

There are those who say young people today have never had it so good and to some extent they’re right. It’s true we’re not facing the severity of the Irish civil war, the misery of Frank McCourt’s ireland nor the violence of the Northern conflict. We have more insights, opportunities and entertainment than in the eighties. The spiritual dogma and abuse of our recent past is lifting. We are exposed to new cultures and ideas and are more educated, skilled and well travelled than ever before.

However each generation has its own mountains to climb. It is easy to see why young people today might fear for their future. We live in a globalised world facing the biggest international recession since the thirties, where one in seven people go hungry each day, where an ongoing ‘war without end’ is raising tensions between east and west. All of this against a backdrop where the very survival of humanity is at risk because of a mindset that sees nature as something to be exploited at all costs.

Of course there are plenty of young movers, shakers and agitators out there willing to get stuck in and make a difference. I encounter thousands of them each year through my work with SpunOut.ie. They have plenty to say, know how to say it and are beginning to influence all areas of Irish life from music to sport, business and the arts. However despite their willingness as active citizens most will agree that old ireland refuses to take them seriously.

This is true for the teenage Collison brothers in Limerick who failed to gain Enterprise ireland support for their software business Auctomatic, which they sold last year for more than €3 million. It is also true for the hundreds of thousands of disillusioned young voters who don’t see anyone worth voting for and who desperately want meaningful forums to air their views and participate in the decisions affecting them.

Internationally half of the world’s population is under 25 and from Iran to Rome and Bolivia to China, they are inheriting legacies of colonialism, corruption, conflict and poverty. Faced with new challenges such as climate change and the new opportunities of the digital age they will shape the century ahead in a make or break race to rethink our future.

I recently returned from Tanzania, one of the world’s poorest countries, where this story is unfolding amidst a life expectancy of 51 years, a 6% rate of HIV/AIDS and an average income of €1 per day. Whilst the statistics make grim reading there is a rising tide of young people and civil society organisations gearing up for change. One young activist I spoke to told me that young people are fed up waiting for change and are beginning to organise themselves to take control of their country.

“Our government doesn’t care about us. They only care about their bank accounts and the next election. Look around you. Things are not good here. We have no choice but to take action ourselves or things will only get worse” says Walter Rweikiza.

It is this type of energy, idealism and sense of purpose that drove Barack Obama to the White House and the same momentum, if fostered, can open the doors to change everywhere.

As we approach a winter of discontent where the Sex Pistols’ screams of ‘No Future’ might well make a comeback, we have an enormous opportunity to take a seismic leap forward in how we view young people.

To do this we need a unified and compassionate community response from parents, teachers, politicians, business and media. We need role models to step forward and invest time in nurturing young minds. We need serious long term investment in youth health and education, adequate facilities and services, and a radical opening up of democratic participation structures in boardrooms, on committees and in government.

We need a partnership of young and old, energy and experience, and a letting go by those gripping the reins. We must trust in the power and potential of young people to help deliver a better future for us all.

Ruairí McKiernan
www.SpunOut.ie

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SpunOut.ie National Youth Organisation

SpunOut.ie is an independent youth powered national charity working to empower young people to create personal and social change. SpunOut.ie combines an interactive online community providing health and lifestyle information, signposting to help services, an alternative youth media space, dynamic discussion forums, and a platform for youth engagement, participation, advocacy and activism. SpunOut.ie reaches nearly half a million users online each year, millions more through the media and has won numerous awards including a Golden Spider Award for 'Best Charity Website' in ireland.