The Role of Youth

[أسامة الفقيه]

The Role of Youth

Osamah Al-Fakih

I do not know how much we know about the importance of being an essential and effective part in the community. It is well-known that youth in Yemen records a very high proportion, but the matter is if we have asked ourselves if this high rate has an importance or not and how. Many experiences over around the world have emphasized that youth in any society may affect their communities either negatively by, for example, being extremists or positively by, for instance, trying to understand and investigate the problems and find appropriate solutions, and let us take the Danish experience as an example. Regardless of the differences between the Danish society and ours, one can find how young people over there can make a change and get the chance to engage in making the policies of their country. In elections, they, the Danish youth, have the right to vote at age 18, and not only that but also to be a candidate which is different from what is in Yemen. To be a candidate for the elections of the local councils in Yemen for example, one must be at least 25 years old. Mentioning the Danish experience here is not necessarily calling to imitate this experience or that one, but to see why the youth there have the ability to be a part in the process of making policies at a very early age and also to start thinking about what we can do. It is not necessarily, too, to engage in the political life to achieve better conditions for life but let us talk about the civil society domain. The youth, in fact, has the obligation to promote the concepts of the civil society rolling, and it is crucial for one has decided to do so to nurture such ideas during and after the university years. Therefore, “Knowledge is power”, and this is the key to begin. Furthermore, involving in civil society activities and youth initiatives gives the youth the chance to look for many options to take an important role to develop the society. Finally, there is a question. Have we ever imagined ourselves taking an important role in our country, as YOUTH??