Introduction
Youth empowerment means integrating creativity, energy and power for the young people in order to realize change in the community and the world at large. It can also be defined as change in attitude, structures and cultural ways of young people in order to acquire ability and authority to make decisions that will change their lives as well as those of others. It involves introduction of equity, civil engagement and democracy among the youths in the society (Curtis, 2008).
Youth Empowerment
Positive change in today’s society can be achieved through empowering and engaging the youths in the society. If young people in a given society are not actively involved in important activities in the society they can be destructive and thus negative change in the society.
It is therefore important to empower them by allowing them to participate in the institutions and make decisions that will influence the society positively. This changes the view that young people are problematic to people who can bring about positive change. Youth participatory should be community based and should involve young people in poor and marginalized areas (Flores, 2008).
Youths are the majority of the world’s population. In addition, many of them are found in the developing countries and they live in poverty. Due to economic situation in these countries many of the youths are without jobs and thus cannot earn sustainable livelihood. By providing employment for youths either in formal or informal sector will translate to hunger and poverty free society. This can be achieved by engaging and empowering the youths in the society (Checkoway and, Gutierrez, 2006).
Empowering youth engagement in the society is done by various institutions in the society such as government, international government and non-governmental organizations. They do so through programs managed by youths. They look into the rights of youths as well as providing council and activism (Sherrod, et al., 2007).
Creating a favorable environment that provides an opportunity for youth leadership will enable them to develop skills needed for change in the society as well as providing opportunity to providing their services to others. Youths can also be empowered by offering ideas concerning work and education. In addition, the assets that can develop this process are also important.
Governments in many countries today are on the forefront in ensuring youth empowerment. This is by providing policies and programs that encourage youth participation in the society. Moreover, these policies allow the young people to have one strong voice in which they can air out issues affecting them. The governments can also fund projects that allow youths to actively participate in changing the society. This entails building infrastructures in which youths can practice participation (Vavrus and Fletcher, 2006).
Other institutions such as schools can empower youths by encouraging youth participation in governance of schools. Empowering youth engagement in the society can also be achieved by increasing financial resources hence reducing dependence on others for support. Equality should also be encouraged in education, wages and power. Awareness campaigns, dialogue and seminars are used in encouraging youth participation and engagement in the society (Sazama and Young, 2006).
Conclusion
Youth active participation cannot be ignored if there has to be any positive change in our societies. Institutional activities should therefore be carried out with youths in mind. Relevant information should be provided for development of youth programs. To engage young people, one has to make use of good communication methods. In addition, they must be given power to influence important decisions. This allows participation to be active and creative hence empowering youth’s engagement in the society.
References
Checkoway, B. & Gutierrez, L. (eds) (2006). Youth Participation and Community Change. Routledge.
Curtis, K. (2008) Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things. Search Institute Press.
Flores, S. (2008) Youth Participatory Evaluation: Strategies for Engaging Young People. San Francisco, John Wiley and Sons.
Sazama, J. & Young, K. (2006) 15 Points to Successfully Involving Youth in Decision-Making, Boston: Youth on Board.
Sherrod, R. et al. ( 2007) Handbook of Research on Civic Engagement in Youth. New Jersey, John Wiley and Sons.
Vavrus, J. & Fletcher, A. (2006) Guide to Social Change Led By and With Young People.