The mission of the world bank is clearly stated in its twin goals- to eradicate poverty and promoting shared prosperity; but with 70% of the world’s population being young people, how is the world bank helping to ensure that this youth population can break through the odds of unemployment which is inclined in the cycle of poverty?
The Global Youth Forum 2016 had a gathering of over 150 attendees, mostly young people from across the world and all sectors. Young people were speakers on panel discussions having dialogue with their cohorts and with also senior managements at the bank and leaders from other institutions.
In this Part Three of this series, we explore the what the young people who attended the forum had to say about the World Bank’s efforts in engaging them in development.
Watch this video to hear more from the Youth voices that attended this forum:
A stephanie Mbida whom I interviewed said with so much passion:
“we are tired of hearing that we are the future because we are here today, we are making things happen! From young girls in Uganda making softwares for health to someone in Australia mastering cufflinks and fashion or in Germany making food; we are out there. It is not a question of if we are doing something amazing because we are, we are looking for partners to support that…”
Basically, findings from the interviews suggests that young people come to events in development institutions like the UN or in this case the World Bank to most especially network and meet their fellow peers with huge curiosity about what each other is doing to solve global problems. A blend of cultures and a pool of human talents all in one room can be the key to saving our generation. When you bring an African and a Chinese in the same room to have a dialogue, what happens?
A guy called Isa told me something profound, he said:
“The African youth has the potential to do amazing things because they are really smart. When they go abroad, they are the best but why is it that in Africa they are still backwards?”
He concludes, saying that everything is in Africa but the young Africans have to start thinking that they can do something for the continent. Hence, why attending this forum was very important to him—to go back home and open the African youth consciousness about their ability, through his Organization.
Many of the young attendees swore on Networking as the main reason for them being at the event. A ken Anvire who has an initiative targeting climate change by means of converting waste into compost through a certain game of incentives, said he has been trying to get sponsors and get people behind his idea but so far his best asset in the face of challenge of funding has been the feedback he is getting from his network. In that light, he is set on expanding that network by attending events hosted at the World Bank and of the likes.
“My next step is take advantage of this forum, connect with as many people as I can because you know if you don’t knock on doors you’re not going to get anything, so I plan to knock on many doors and get the opportunity I need. Contact: “anvireken@gmail.com”
The challenges that young people face are many. The biggest challenge we have in Africa is lack of information. There might be a million people doing something but the lack of access of the information and connecting people so that you have support.
Several of the attendees had good opinions about why they attended the conference. One must admit that the forum was a positive effort by the Development Institution to engage young people and bring them to the table to discuss solutions.
