Invest in the African youth - 13 Jul 2009

Africa's present youth are a resilient generation and they have to be in order to deal with their respective countries' political, social and economic difficulties. Each fights individual battles to make a success of their lives and some just to stay alive. There's a saying that goes, "Africa is not for sissies," and I'm afraid if you don't have the endurance to strive against the odds, you're not going to get far. Against famine, poverty, corruption, drought, civil war and so on - the African youth of today have it tough. It is important that we remember that the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow and investment in the youth today will go a long way to the success of any country tomorrow. Zimbabwe, for one, will depend on its youth for development and yet the education system still fails them. Students have rejected ZIMSEC in favour of a Cambridge qualification due to the bungling council delaying or not providing examination results. So what is Africa doing right for its youth? Last week South Africa hosted the Inaugural African Youth Chess Championship and reports say it was a triumphant success. The competition hosted nine countries; ten players from South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria have qualified for the 2009 World Youth Chess Championship. Creating means for Africa's youth to come together recreationally is a great start to understanding one another's cultures and to take that respect and knowledge back home and share it. Another great development on the education front is that South African tertiary institutions, Wits Business School and the University of Johannesburg, are hosting an entrepreneurship exchange symposium on ‘Best practice in entrepreneurial development', where ideas will be shared and exchanged. For Africa to be free from reliance on developed nations it is important that the continent provides a flourishing entrepreneurial environment for the youth. As American author, Frederick Douglass once noted, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”