Youth In Development ,Leveraging the Internet and Social Media

A bright Sunday Morning it was! As I stretched my arms, suddenly woke up by the soft gospel music my kid brother was playing coupled with his kind of blued voice –oh yes he was chanting his morning slogans- the history essay ,as the grade nine leaving exams approach. Turning the other way round, my shy eyes bumped into the twinkling sunrays that penetrated the light curtained window of our bedroom. I realized another had started .Quickly I jumped onto my computer desk so that I could check my email and drop some updates to my networking partners.

Soon after , I logged into facebook as usual to upload some beautiful photos which I took the previous day-the potholed dusty roads and hills surrounded by sparkling brown bush, north of Kitwe city ,approaching Garneton East where about one hundred fifty houses were bulldozed ,claimed to have been occupied illegally .Admiring these photos ,I realized how people communicated ,networked and collaborated effectively upon looking at a string of comments following the update comment for one man I would call popular and a friend of many Zambian Youth on facebook . I paused for a reflection and recalled what I learnt during my social media for development course .I realized the power of social media in influencing youth participation in development.

Again and again, I asked myself: what is the impact of the internet and social media in particular in influencing the participation of youths in development? Have youths realized and do they appreciate the power of social media in development? How can we help the youth through social media to participate efficiently and effectively in development?

As much as I continued asking myself, in bright colours and pictures in motion I visualized the youths doing it ,roaring , being successful ,achieving their goals , where social media was the wheel driving the change …

For thousands of years during African invasions, colonialism and tribal conflict the youth of Africa have not had a voice.They have had no voice to represent that they have the power,soul , drive and intelligence to lift themselves out of poverty.You would hear a movie or rock star’s voice that only laments the youth to be a sad NGO statistic , one after the other.

About Zambia’s youth? Well, Zambia is a youthful country .Young people aged 25years and below , account for 68% of the country’s estimated 11.7 million people live who lived in Zambia according to 2006 Central Statistics Office projections . The 2000 census of population and housing indicates that there were more than 5.6 million children and 1.3 million youth in Zambia .This bottom heavy demographic presents a major challenge with its far reaching consequences on the productive and social sectors of the country.

According to the 2006 National Youth policy , a “youth ‘ in Zambia is defined as any person between 18 and 35 years .The main problems that youth in Zambia face include poor information flow on issues affecting their own survival and transition into adulthood; lack of protection ; limited participation in national development and decision making ; absence of youth rights. Youth have not been sufficiently represented in community leadership and at different levels of society .They have had fewer or no opportunities to share their development ideas into reality .A string of problems including HIV/AIDS , limited access to education , non availability of youth friendly credit facilities , lack of access to land makes the list to go and go …

However, the institutional response to the social and economic marginalization of youth has had only limited impact. The existing strategies and approaches do not take sufficient account of youth needs, capabilities and potential.

The Zambian case, really demonstrate the gap that needs to be bridged if the youth are to participate in development effectively and efficiently.

Everything about poverty breathes of failure, worthlessness and closed opportunities .The youth have to be empowered and demonstrate to other people that this sis an illusion if not a lie and that they no longer have to fall into the traps of poverty .As Kirk Franklin once said ,”I refuse to be another black statistic ,” Yes indeed I can hear the voice of the youth from the North to the South , I can see its written on their faces, I can hear them roar like a hungry, frustrated lion in the dry impala-less plain savanna of Mother Zambia –“ We have refused to be another black statistic ,we need a voice we can call our own, the elders ,political leaders, businesses , government , NGOs and the society at large need to hear from us, they need our story ,Our voice is needed now more than ever before.”

Yes indeed, youths have to be empowered and inspired to embrace leadership and social networking skills in order to appreciate and utilize the resources and opportunities around them in order to improve their livelihood. They need to prove for themselves that anything is possible and have a sense of purpose and identity. More so, the youth have to be empowered to use their own voices and to work together; learn how to turn to businesses and elders for help; see learning as a way out of poverty…. With great results; build a network of supporters e.g. adults, businesses, community leaders e.t.c..

There a solution comes that bridges the gap between youths and adults, businesses, community leaders e.t.c., creating a platform for democratic learning, effective leadership, networking and collaboration .The internet and social media in particular , proves to be the solution.

The internet is our youth’s free resource for extensive growth. It taps them into a global world of possibilities.

Before the existence of the internet and the so called digital revolution, multimedia production was limited to the few in society who possessed the skills funding and equipment necessary to handle ‘complex’ media projects. With the arrival of affordable PCs , cell phone and the internet ,multimedia production and distribution have become much more accessible. Today the internet offers young artists ,authors, and activists an inexpensive communication tool that allows them to combine text, images, video ,audio and animation into a final product that can carry content to a global audience at a relatively low cost .Many young producers , with assistance from supportive institutions , have found creative ways to publish their civic –minded messages. The result of this media revolution is a new generation of young people empowered to speak their minds , shape their communities , ad offer solutions to some of societies most pressing problems.

Free social media is explosive with youth in developing nations .Social media describes the online tools and platforms that people use to share opinions, insights , experiences , and perspectives with each other .This can take different forms including text , images , audio and video.

The common term “ web 2.0,” basically refers to the second generation of web based services such as , social networking sites e.g. facebook,twitter,wiki, ning , and communication tools that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.In web 2.0 , people with no specialized programming knowledge can create their own websites to self publish , create and upload audio and video files , share photos and information and complete a variety of other tasks. In this new world , the internet becomes a platform for self expression , education and advocacy that the average person can use on their own without having to go to an expert to do it for them. Thus social media offers the youth a range of opportunities as it is a way for each and everyone (youths and adults) to collaborate and share information , it facilitate the sharing of ideas and causes that the youth are passionate about , it makes the internet the primary place for learning life skills and a place to simply have fun.

With social media , youth learn to question the world around them and to understand how government ad society works. They become creators, raising youth voices on topics of societal concern .And through the internet , they gain access to far broader audiences than those of traditional print outlets. Thus social media can amplify youth voices and provide a means of expression for the marginalized .When these websites are interactive, they also create a new forum for civic dialogue—virtual dialogue that transforms youth from content “consumers” to content “providers.” More so, leadership is a very powerful tool when matched with social networking .Through this we can prove that wealth grows with the knowledge that we have the resources around us to succeed

It is therefore evident that the internet and social media , offers a great opportunity ad platform for the youth to participate effectively and efficiently in uplifting themselves and communities they live in out of poverty ,enhancing their role in development .There are so many workable initiatives that have worked and more are being developed and are quite innovative on how best the internet and social media can be utilized.

If at all the youth realize and appreciate the power of combining leadership with social networking , and the power of Information and Communication Technologies in new social media and in youth development , more will participate , learn and vocalize their views to the global audience with great , positive results. The communication of these strong civic voices will effect change.

Definitely , social media inspire and empower the youth , creating an opportunity and environment for the collaboration between youths and adults, businesses, community leaders , political leaders , the government and other stakeholder, to learn and share ideas , skills and opportunities that will help youths to turn their ideas into action , improve their livelihood ,hence becoming self-sustainable.

But how have the internet and social media worked for other youths ? Check out on this space , the next article on this topic : Youth In Development ,Leveraging the Internet and Social Media –The Proven Formula

By Wandila Simon Kamukwape