Young people and the "common agenda"

(First published in the T&T Guardian on April 26, 2023)

I am almost certain that most governments were not sure what they were getting themselves into when they delivered a 2020 mandate to the UN Secretary-General to come up with a roadmap for advancing a “common agenda” in response to “current and future (global) challenges.”

It had to be they did not countenance the explosive implications of a revised order, or different way of doing business that cedes power, privilege and responsibility to otherwise maginalised social, economic, and political elements.

Today, three years after this instruction to the global body, and the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war-mongering, imperialist desire, self-destructive development planning, and even more of the same old, same old remain firmly in place.

There in fact appears an even more intense devotion to the status quo – even on the heels of pandemic devastation.

Significantly, last week’s release of a third policy brief related to the “Common Agenda” mandate focuses ambitiously on youth participation in the decision-making process.

The “glass ceiling” concept has, quite rightly, occupied gender-aware spaces, but I can think of no other group – at least here in the Caribbean – more marginalised by power dynamics than our young people.

Think of the processes in which youth are engaged to convert ideas and dreams into tangible enterprises contributing to economic, social, and cultural wealth. I see few prospects for change.

The blockages, you see, are not passive omissions of policy and practice, but active borders policed by regulation, convention, and blatant discrimination.

On more than one occasion, I have had the painful displeasure of witnessing the deflating impacts of this phenomenon. I am sure that you have receipts of your own. Young people – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – whipped into submission - seen but not heard, denied voice and opportunity.

The UN policy brief thoughtfully addresses some of these, but almost entirely from the standpoint of official validation through a process of so-called “empowerment.” “We” (who are in charge) should open doors for “them.”

There is a presumption of dominance in keeping with status quo dynamics when what is evidently needed is a revolution that turns our realities on their heads and shakes … hard.

What is the fear behind stepping aside? I have advocated for this for more rapid and relevant embrace of digitalisation in both the private and public sectors – a change recognisably dragging on its bottom to nowhere.

Come on. Stand aside, be prepared to offer advice based on experience, and pass the assignment to digital natives who eat, drink, and sleep such a boundaryless reality.

We have dinosaurs fixed on risk instead of young people who are recognising opportunity.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, in introducing the brief surmised that “transformative changes will simply not be possible at the scale required without the buy-in and contributions of a wide range of actors. This is especially true of the 1.2 billion young people alive today.”

Sounds like we have heard it all before, right? I have … like 50 years ago (minus the population figure).

I think the time has come for all of this to move from the stage of official briefs to multi-stakeholder action.

Our Caribbean governments joined the call for change in 2020. The UN system has done some work. What have we done? What do we expect to see come of this?

The painfully obvious through all this is that young people have, as the UN SG suggests “become a driving force for societal change through social mobilisation – pushing for climate action, seeking racial justice, promoting gender equality and demanding dignity for all.”

Right here in T&T, youth initiative and creativity are visible in music, art, and the employment of innovative technologies.

They are the ones who should be steering us through the digitalisation of government and private enterprise. I have argued before that an age ceiling should be set for experts leading the digitalisation processes.

Give me 30-year-old digital natives who ask all the “foolish questions.” Who understand that downloadable forms represent nothing new. That technological facades for manual back-ends are no longer fooling anyone.

I also feel sorry for the 50 and 60 and 70 year old politicians pronouncing authoritatively on needed prohibitions rather than the exploitation of social media opportunity.

I regret, on behalf of them, the false expectation that their own calls for a common agenda for change could countenance their own demise. Sadly, I am almost certain they will resist this with all their might.