Youths in Enugu State have called for the openness and collaboration of adults especially senior citizens to move society forward through emerging innovations.
They said this during an International Youth Day 2022 Symposium with the theme: “Inter-generational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages”.
The one-day symposium was organized by the South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO) and Actionaid.
The Executive Director of New Century Initiative, Mr Collins Nebo, said that most adults feel unsecured working with young people especially the intelligent ones.
According to Nebo, life is like a cycle, which everyone should be given opportunity to add something into and the elders should open up, sharing their experience and limitation for younger ones to carry on.
He said: “It is rather sad that unlike in the advance climes, elders and adults cherish young people coming close, learning and taking life advancement forward.
“We must start advocating a change in the narrative and letting the senior citizens today know that they have huge responsibility of mentorship and ensuring youths take off from where they stop to move the society forward.”
Miss Florence Ugwu, the Convener of Initiative for Girls and Women Enlightenment, said that the youths must maximise the use of social media to deepen advocacy for inter-generational shift and change.
Ugwu noted that youths should not only dominant the social media space but ensure that they pull the adults into it and let everyone be in the same positive page on moving the community or society forward.
“Social media remains the greatest weapon of change the youths have for mobilization, reorientation and awareness on issues that affect everyone and use same to ensure the adult population is carried along,” he said.
Speaking, the Chief Executive of Sparks Consults, Mrs Chinyere Otuonye, urged youths to ensure that they do all to sell their visions and programmes for the understanding of all.
Otuonye, who delivered a lecture on “Achieving Youth Empowerment through Inter-generational Collaboration”, noted that youths must ensure that they explain clearly the benefits of their visions or programmes to each generation.
“We have to build support systems for all to key-in and practically show people the social and empowerment benefits of our visions and programmes for all generation,” she said.
In a lecture on “How Youths in Politics Leadership Can Bring Positive Change”, Mr Ajuluchukwu Edechiene, noted there was a need for more youths to get into political power and begin to change the narrative.
Edechiene, who is the Executive Director of Red Aid Nigeria, noted there was a need for a policy direction that mandates every young person to undergo internship or volunteering to understudy and be mentored early in life.
“Youths have to leverage on their overwhelming numbers to galvanise themselves to take up political space and start making a difference.
“There is need for youths to pool resources together and encourage those with leadership acumen, who have been mentored, to occupy decision making offices to bring in innovation and energy,” he said.
The symposium was attended by leaders of different non-governmental organisations and youth-based organisations within Enugu State.
