It seems to me that media is a commons of the people, and particularly in rich countries it's not serving understanding of digital divides on
what youth wants.
at one level , how often do we see any of the outstanding views in this virtual debate presented in the mass media?
is this because its the same most powerful people who haven't done much to help the poorest that dictate what the media covers?
or what is the reason?
at another level,
there are some global brands out there that spend a billion dollars a year just advertising images! why don't they adopt a real cause as well as
an image?
for example if Coca-Cola got all the companies that deal in water to collaborate in start improving fresh water for the billion without it
(something that many of Coca-Cola's own people must be expert in as a company that knows about
liquids everywhere in the world), wouldn't world youth like Coca-Cola better
than if it only spends a billion a year on image-making?

(incidentally, we've absolutely got to get completive companies collaborating
over the biggest humanitarian issues because they all seem too big to me for any one organization to solve on its own be it corporate, government,
or youth network we are desperately weak on collaborative models of organizing because
so much business school expertise has been put into completion so little into collaborating even though the internet's greatest innovations are
surely all about collaboration potentials)
the largest brands have become the most expensive communications exercises of our time ; mediators between societies, but are they communicating the
real things humans want to progress in the world?

The future of every nation is largely dependent on its youth force.
This is because they form a great reservoir of vibrant energy, dynamism and if adequately catered for, educated and given a voice in the spheres of leadership, can be a great uniting force and produce a foundation for a great future.
If neglected however and allowed to drift they can constitute a nightmare to any nation.
In the developing nations especially,
the youth hitherto have not been given the attention they rightly deserve.
This has led to various forms and levels
of unrest, which probably could have been avoided, had the government played fairly.
First we must refer to the basics because just as today is yesterdays past so also shall today be
tomorrows past. To therefore lay a foundation on which to build tomorrow I want to argue that until the tenets of good governance are entrenched in the body polity and leadership of a nation, addressing poverty reduction and
enhancing youth empowerment and development will forever remain pipe dreams.
Governance indeed is a wide subject and has been diversely defined by various groups to suite specific interests and purposes. On the whole
however, governance must be about people, enhancing the lot of the citizenry of any nation. The principle of mutual inclusion in planning and
decision making processes is of great importance. The voice of the youth must be given its place in the polity of a nation.
In most developing countries and dictatorial governments, most plans and decision-making are centralized and indeed carried out on perceived
needs of the youth as against actual needs and heartfelt desires of the youth and the
poor especially.
This has in most countries led to waste/mismanagement of resources as plans and the people cannot support goals that are not
People oriented.
Some have embarked on elephant projects aimed at alleviating poverty and youth development.
But due to planning without facts, these projects
fail woefully and end up putting money in the pockets of a few who really are not the target population.
You cannot plan for a people or a group, whose
problems or needs you do not adequately understand or appreciate.
There will always be the poor and the youth in every society, but their lot in the scheme of things can be greatly improved where adequate policies are designed and implemented with the inclusion and participation of the youth
and the poor.
It is often said that he who wears the shoes, knows where it pinches.
So how can one who has not been pinched know how to arrest or stop the pinch?
There is therefore need for leadership of nations to embrace the virtues/tenets of good governance in running their various nations.
Some of these tenets include:
Participation: -
The target population must be carried along in plans and decision-making and implementation. Simply because a people oriented project is more likely to succeed as against an imposed project. People especially, the downtrodden of society (the poor and the youth) will always identify with what they are a part than what they have no hand in or are not a part off.
Sustainability: -
The government must put together and pursue
Programmers that are sustainable and avoid disjointed instrumentalist mode of planning
because this has largely not worked out well for developing countries.
When sustainability is in focus, it helps projects that are mostly momentary and designed to fail so that a few only are enriched and the
target population unreached.
Transparency and Accountability: -
For participation to be effective and productive, the leadership must be seen to be transparent and
accountable to the citizenry.
This increases goodwill amongst the people especially the youth and the poor thereby increasing the chances of the government at
succeeding in their endeavors.
This also promotes legitimacy,
acceptance and most importantly role modeling.
Resource Mobilization: -
Available resources must be properly harnessed
and used based on the principles of equity and equality. So that the impact is felt through the rank and file of society.
Efficiency: -
The government must be service oriented and promote effective delivery of public services so as to enhance local and small-scale economic development aimed at improving the lot of the youth and the poor.
Decentralization: -
The bottom-up approach to development may not be
the best in certain situations, but where possible, this approach to development
should be encouraged and adequately implemented so that the youth can also lay claim to national solutions in the long run.
The government must therefore create an enabling environment and facilitate inclusion; it
must be regulatory rather than controlling.
If leadership is to be enhanced, poverty reduction adequately addressed and the youth empowered in preparation for future leadership, embracing the tenets of good governance, as a prerequisite cannot be over-emphasized.

Democracy and Participation
Hi everyone,

I think we need to acknowledge that currently globally there is a deficit of democracy.
Democracy is about power. Less and less people are voting
(Even in developed countries).
The average citizen is disillusioned and do not trust the leaders of
so-called 'democracies'. Who gets to be leaders of these democracies?
It is not the poor –
It is those who have access to education and resources. So - who is
exporting the concept democracy? For what reasons are still issues that we need to look at.
Secondly,
We have also spoken about youth very generally. I think is
important to acknowledge that youth in any context are not a homogenous grouping. Following on that - when you then promote participation you will take into account the different realities of youth - gender, race, economics etc.