National 10 (Spotlight Weekly)

For A Better Tomorrow

Delegates from 140 countries discuss ways of boosting opportunities for productive work

By SANJAYA DHAKAL in Alexandria, Egypt

Amid a special function organized in the ancient Bibliotheca Alexandria (Library of Alexandria) Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak opened the first-ever international Youth Employment Summit (YES) 2002.

With the purpose of addressing the burgeoning problem of unemployment of youth worldwide, the US-based Education Development Center (EDC) has organized the five-day gathering of 2000, mostly youth, delegates from around 140 countries all over the world. The Egyptian government is hosting the summit.

The summit also marks the launching of the Decade Campaign of Action 2002-2012 whereupon it aims to mobilize youth community leaders and all other sectors soars to find 500 million sustainable employment opportunities within 2012. YES will be the first time where diverse stakeholders convene to focus their attention on addressing youth employment. There are some 1 billion youths (15-24 age group) in the world today - 85 percent of them in developing countries where they have few skills and even fewer opportunities for productive work.

"The issue of youth unemployment if not properly addressed, could trigger social and political unrest," warned Mrs. Mubarak. She described the situation as "a social and political time bomb".

In a video message sent to the summit, former US president Bill Clinton said, "There are millions of youths who are unemployed and who are clamoring for opportunities. They deserve a better future."

According to EDC estimates, almost 1 billion people in the world survive on less than US$ 1 a day. Three billion survive on less than US$ 2 a day. "Without meaningful employment and career opportunities, the thwarted expectations of youth create a breeding ground for poverty, disease, crime, violence and civil unrest undermining political stability, international security and the effectiveness of capital investment," said Poonam Ahluwalia, executive director of YES 2002.

The experts on youth employment agreed that leaving large chunk of youth without employment opportunities is a recipe for catastrophe. "Let us be clear. Half educated, unemployed youth with no prospects for being integrated into a better future is a prescription for disaster. If young people do not have a stake in the existing social order and political order, if they do not feel there is a way forward for them, why should they sacrifice for a better tomorrow? Why should they have an interest in protecting the stability and social safety of that system?" asked Dr. Ismail Serageldin, director general of the Library of Alexandria and chairman of the YES 2002 organizing committee.

Dr. Ismail's warning coming out from this beautiful city by the Mediterranean Sea does ring alarm bells around the world particularly in countries like Nepal. With a total population of 23.1 million, Nepal is witnessing a palpable youth bulge with 60 percent of its population below 40 years of age. Twenty percent of† total population is between the ages of 15-30.

According to the figures from the Employment Promotion Commission (Nepal), 47 percent of the total population is underemployed (around 11 million) and around 1.5 million youths are totally unemployed. Every year 300,000 to 350,000 youths enter job market in Nepal. Only ten percent of them find jobs. Around 100,000 leave the country, particularly to India, for jobs while the rest remain back home facing the indignity of idleness and insecurity.

With the raging insurgency in the countryside, the issue has gained another terrifying dimension as insurgents are finding unemployed and frustrated youths easy recruits. Until and unless there is a concerted effort to address this issue holistically, the prophecies of disaster emanating from Alexandria could materialize sooner rather than later.