Towards a Comprehensive National Youth Development Programme (NYPD) in Malawi
Memories and scars of the brutality of the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP), a youth programme turned into a para-military wing of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) are still fresh among many Malawians. However, the majority of Malawians also accept that the original aims of the MYP were good in that it was envisaged as a movement through which the youth would be mobilised to contribute to national development through training in basic vocational skills such as carpentry, farming, tailoring and the inculcation into the youth of many other civic duties and responsibilities including the notion of patriotism, respect and self discipline. The MYP was violently disbanded on or around the dawn of a multi-party dispensation in 1994 after a squabble between its paramilitary wing and the Malawi Army.
Since 1994, Malawi has not had a coherent youth development policy despite the growing challenges affecting the youth such as youth delinquency, HIV/AIDS, rising unemployment, inadequate access to education and training and many others.
The call for the revival of the MYP, over a decade after its disbandment, is an interesting proposition. Although many Malawians would be wary of seeing the MYP back in its old form, they would be happy to see a process of reflection to learn lessons from the MYP so that a much more robust national youth development programme can be developed to deal with the current challenges affecting the youth and the nation. I hereby put forward some suggestions on what basically needs to be done towards developing a Comprehensive National Youth Development Programme (NYPD) in Malawi:
1) We need to revise the National Youth Policy (NYP), through an act of parliament, in order to incorporate a National Youth Development Programme (NYPD) (which would define the role of youths in national development and strategies for achieving this);
2) The NYP should incorporate strong provisions for a depoliticisation of the NYPD;
3) The process for achieving 1) and 2) would be a call for a national youth conference, which should involve various key stakeholders such as Govt Ministries, religious organisations, traditional leaders, civil society including youth organisations, educational institutions, private sector, political parties, donors and the youths themselves;
4) Prior to 3) we would need an audit/evaluation of the past performance of the Malawi Young Pioneers, with a view to learning from history, its successes and challenges, how it was sustained in terms of resources, its organisational structure, and what is left of it (i.e. what lessons from the past?)
5) We would also need to review cases of national youth programmes from other countries in SADC and beyond - South Africa is also in the process of revamping or re-development of their national youth programme (I am happy to report that I have participated and contributed to the RSA process through a review of youth policies both of RSA and other countries - very enriching experience!).
In a nutshell, I do think that with the growing challenges relating to food insecurity, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, limited access to education and training, youth delinquency, among others, the development of a comprehensive national youth programme is an issue that needs urgent attention. The scars of the past, emanating from the difficult political environment at the time, ought not to be a reason for us not act to mobilise our youth into a force for good.
The youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow, they are already active player in today's society - they are already leading through their various contributions to socio-economic development of the country. However, they currently lack proper structures and systems through which their energy can be maximally tapped into. They also lack an avenue through which they can shape their lives so that they can better contribute to Malawi's development.
Let’s move to help our youth in Malawi!
Kennedy Lweya, PhD
Training and Development Consultant
Johannesburg
Since 1994, Malawi has not had a coherent youth development policy despite the growing challenges affecting the youth such as youth delinquency, HIV/AIDS, rising unemployment, inadequate access to education and training and many others.
The call for the revival of the MYP, over a decade after its disbandment, is an interesting proposition. Although many Malawians would be wary of seeing the MYP back in its old form, they would be happy to see a process of reflection to learn lessons from the MYP so that a much more robust national youth development programme can be developed to deal with the current challenges affecting the youth and the nation. I hereby put forward some suggestions on what basically needs to be done towards developing a Comprehensive National Youth Development Programme (NYPD) in Malawi:
1) We need to revise the National Youth Policy (NYP), through an act of parliament, in order to incorporate a National Youth Development Programme (NYPD) (which would define the role of youths in national development and strategies for achieving this);
2) The NYP should incorporate strong provisions for a depoliticisation of the NYPD;
3) The process for achieving 1) and 2) would be a call for a national youth conference, which should involve various key stakeholders such as Govt Ministries, religious organisations, traditional leaders, civil society including youth organisations, educational institutions, private sector, political parties, donors and the youths themselves;
4) Prior to 3) we would need an audit/evaluation of the past performance of the Malawi Young Pioneers, with a view to learning from history, its successes and challenges, how it was sustained in terms of resources, its organisational structure, and what is left of it (i.e. what lessons from the past?)
5) We would also need to review cases of national youth programmes from other countries in SADC and beyond - South Africa is also in the process of revamping or re-development of their national youth programme (I am happy to report that I have participated and contributed to the RSA process through a review of youth policies both of RSA and other countries - very enriching experience!).
In a nutshell, I do think that with the growing challenges relating to food insecurity, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, limited access to education and training, youth delinquency, among others, the development of a comprehensive national youth programme is an issue that needs urgent attention. The scars of the past, emanating from the difficult political environment at the time, ought not to be a reason for us not act to mobilise our youth into a force for good.
The youth are not only the leaders of tomorrow, they are already active player in today's society - they are already leading through their various contributions to socio-economic development of the country. However, they currently lack proper structures and systems through which their energy can be maximally tapped into. They also lack an avenue through which they can shape their lives so that they can better contribute to Malawi's development.
Let’s move to help our youth in Malawi!
Kennedy Lweya, PhD
Training and Development Consultant
Johannesburg
posted by kennedylweya at 8:25 AM
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