Over the recent Easter Holiday, I had a fruitful interaction with European Union-Malawi Youth Sounding Board (EU-MWYSB) members in Salima District. I was privileged to facilitate a communication and outreach training for effective youth engagement for these members. Going by the introductions, I noted that Malawi has vibrant, talented and innovative youths. Given space, they could turn around the fortunes of this great country.
The population of Malawi is youthful, with 51 percent of the population under 18 years of age, according to the 2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census. This justifies why the youth should be central in defining their destiny.
Despite their significant proportion, presently and projected in future, the youth in Malawi are oftentimes associated with all manner of bad news bordering on unbecoming behaviour. Sadly, our political landscape has not helped matters as much, if reports on the same are anything to go by.
However, the Malawi Government should be commended for instituting a supportive policy and legal framework for the youth. For instance, the National Youth Policy (2013) provides the overarching policy guidance. The policy highlights nine objectives, such as providing guidance on minimum standards for the design of youth programmes; guiding the allocation and use of national resources (financial, human, and material); mainstreaming gender equity and equality in all youth programmes; and ensuring that youths are included as active participants at all levels.
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The Policy gives the Ministry of Youth and Sports the mandate to facilitate youth development and promote active youth participation in national development. It also gives the government and other stakeholders direction on mainstreaming youth issues and youth policies. The policy paved the way for the establishment of the National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) as the key implementation agency for youth programmes. The National Youth Council Act (1996) provides for the promotion, coordination and implementation of youth development programmes.
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At regional and international levels, the Government of Malawi has also endorsed and ratified several conventions, declarations and strategies towards economic, social and political participation and well-being of the youth. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, African Youth Charter (2006), which Malawi ratified in 2010, The African Union Agenda 2063 and various Sadc Youth Protocols.
A notable aspect which promises to be another game-changer in this regard is the EU Youth Strategy 1. It is a framework for EU Youth Policy Cooperation for 2019-27. It places much emphasis on the fact that young people are change-makers. The EU recognises that youths are essential partners in the implementation of the European Consensus on Development, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
While various development partners are registering positive strides in implementing such youth-centric policies and programmes, it was observed that there had not been tangible youth engagement. As one of the strategies for stepping up youth engagement, the European Union Delegation (EUD) in Malawi established the MW-YSB. It is a group comprising 15 youths from various backgrounds.
The EU- MW-YSB presents a rare opportunity for young Malawians to be closer to the EU Cooperation Policy and to make it more participatory, relevant and effective for the needs of the youth in the country. Some good news, isn’t it?
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But in situations like these, there should always be a catalyst to lubricate this flow of information to promote effective engagement among stakeholders. A comprehensive communication and outreach training was, therefore, necessary to equip these EU-MW YSB members with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to enable them to communicate effectively and maximise their impact.
Besides training them, interacting with this group accorded me the opportunity to get their perspective regarding issues affecting their lives. I, among others, shared with them ways on how they can safeguard the reputation of their board, institutions they represented and their own [reputation] as individuals.
But was it necessary to bother these youths with reputation issues? Reputation, as a concept, is now becoming part of normal discourse. Businesses, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), among others, realise that their financial standing, ability to attract and retain talent and their survival depend on their reputation. A country with bad reputation cannot attract tourists, foreign direct investment (FDI) and support from development partners. Youth also need to safeguard their reputation. Thus, even when operating in difficult environments, we have to sustain a positive image and reputation. As business tycoon and philanthropist Warren Buffett puts it, it takes 20 years to build reputation and only five minutes to ruin it. That is why reputation has to be managed.
One important aspect in managing reputation is accountability, transparency and truthfulness. Worth noting is that propaganda and good reputation are not bedfellows. Disseminating information, which includes distorted facts, arguments, rumours and half-truths, aimed at influencing public opinion amounts to propaganda. The moment the public discovers that the information you shared was propaganda, your reputation could be at stake.
Well, as I reflect on my interaction with the EU-MW YSB members, I am convinced that Malawi has a brighter future. Malawi could leverage on this youthful population to accelerate its socio-economic development endeavours.
