The Role of Youth in Society

Introduction

Each age group in society has its own role and this is important in many different ways. Youth as a
description of a sector of society has many definitions depending on the perspective being used. For the
purposes of this discussion youth will be considered to be the stage of life involving transition into
adulthood: approximately age 15 to 25.

Young people are often considered to represent the future as they bring new ideas and energy to add to
the pool of knowledge that currently exists. They can bring enthusiasm and vitality which can lead to
new discoveries and developments that can benefit society or even the world at large. Although not the
only drivers of social change, young people are seen to be one the key drivers engendering change.
Whether this is inherent in the beliefs of young people or the hope for the future is placed upon them
by older generations is not clear. However, India is changing and developing, and this affects the lives of
the people living there in varying degrees depending on their individual circumstances. Therefore, there
are many new opportunities becoming available that can provide very different futures for today’s
youth that were not available to previous generations. This essay will consider the role of youth in a
changing Indian society.

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The Role of Young People

In order to consider the role of young people in India it is helpful to first consider the overall situation in
India as this provides the context in which young people are growing up. There are two areas in
particular to consider: the transition towards being a developed country and the changes in population.
India has made great strides in technology and other areas, including the space programme. However,
much of the country remains unaffected by such developments and there is still much to be done to
create an inclusive society where the living conditions for the whole population are brought up to an
acceptable level and absolute poverty is eradicated. The differences between castes and religions also
still remain a factor in the cohesiveness of the population as a whole.

The population of India is also still increasing substantially and is expected to exceed that of China by the
middle of this century. The population in 2012 was estimated to be 1.22 billion. In line with world trends
life expectancy has also increased in India from 62.3 years for males and 63.9 years for females in 2001-
2005 to 67.3 years and 69.6 years respectively in 2011-2015. Birth rates, however, have fallen slightly
from crude figures of 22 per 1000 population to 21 per 1000 population between 2011 and 2012 (The
World Bank, 2014). However, given the size of the population this still represents a large number of
births. One health issue that is also particularly important is HIV/AIDS as there are estimated to be 2.4
million people in India living with the condition (MedIndia, 2014).

These are some of the key elements that affect India at present and which overarch the role of young
people in society.

Young people in India today

The youth of India make up approximately a quarter of the population and thus represent a substantial
sector of society (Adlakha, 2014). The environment in which they are living is very different to that
which was experienced by their parents. As a result many of the traditional values and cultural
behaviours are being challenged by the influence of other cultures, particularly those in the West.
Therefore, it can be seen that there are competing ways of life that exist which may be considered
either a choice or a cause of confusion for young people. However, there are also good role models such
as the first Indian-born woman to go into space, Kalpana Chawla, that show what can be achieved by
Indian people male or female.

Young people in India are considered to be vitally important as they will bring new ideas and
developments to improve their country where older people are viewed as unable to be innovative or
deal with new ideas. This perception differs from the views of young people and indeed the structure of
society in general that exists in the West. Western perceptions do place young people in a strong
position but, possibly due to a substantially longer life expectancy, there is a less dismissive view of
older people, certainly in respect of those of working age. The roles of people in a other age ranges in
addition to young people are considered to be valuable as each contribute differently to society as a
whole. This does not extend in many cases to the elderly, however, but the longer life span in the West
presents a different set of issues (Kruger & Poster, 1990, p. 72). India is keen for their young people to
become involved in civil society and develop political interest as this seen to be a vital part of the
development of the country. In many ways there would appear to be a great deal of pressure being
placed on the younger generation to move India into more developed and progressive country.

The ability of the young people to fully participate in this way, however, is inhibited by two main factors.
The first is the level of education, which also will be indicative of their wealth status, and the second is
their caste and/or religious position. The better educated the young person is the more likely they are to
participate more fully in civil society according to available research. Therefore, increasing the level of
education across the country is important to develop the skills in the young people to enable to
undertake the type of jobs that will help India develop. There is a substantial problem with illiteracy
across the population, and even children attending school are leaving education still illiterate. This is
particularly the case for the children from the poorest sectors of society. Unesco's 11th Education For All
(EFA) Global Monitoring Report suggests, amongst other factors, that at the present rate of progress the
poorest women in India will not be universally literate until 2080 (UNESCO, 2013/14). Therefore, unless
this is addressed the pressure on young people to improve India will not produce the required results as
there will be insufficient desire and capability to make the improvements a reality. There may also need
to be a change of thinking generally in society to develop a desire for education and a belief that
education is important to improve the standards of living for everyone. For the poorest people earning a
living may be more important than education and even young children are needed to contribute. Child
labour is still a major issue in India and will impact on the children’s ability to ever improve their lives
(US Department of Labour, 2013, p. np). There is legislation in place in the form of The Child Labour
(Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (Indian Child Line, nd), which, if observed and enforced, should
prevent this.

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The caste system and/or religious beliefs also present barriers to a cohesive progress despite the
changes made to eliminate these problems (Zezulka-Mailloux & Gifford, 2003, p. 156). This is a complex
system with many ramifications which will not be discussed at length here but which does have a
substantial influence on how people live in India. The way that different groups within the population
view each other can be divisive, with even those people considered to have more secular views not
wishing to eat with others from a different group, in some cases not even wanting to speak with them,
or other similar types of segregation. This creates an atmosphere in which some people are more likely
to be able to progress whilst others will be open to oppression. Thus the overall situation has many
factors working at the same time, some which are conducive to progress and others that are barriers.

The specific ways in which India is planning progress into the future are contained within the India 2020
Report which considers the vision for the future of India, the opportunities and the challenges in respect
of human development, infrastructure, energy and many other areas (Kalam & Rajan, 2002). The Report
indicates that the changes already taking place in the country are bringing about shifts in many areas
such as in the population with lower birth rates and anticipated increased life expectancy. The effect of
these changes is likely to be felt in different ways depending upon how affluent the person is. For poorer
people their situation is still very difficult and much more will need to change to enable and empower
this group of people to improve their lives. The India 2020 Report also identified Nodal Points for Indian
prosperity. In order for these Points to be effective the population will need to know what is required
and pull together to achieve these goals. Within this plan there is clear evidence of the reliance that is
being placed on young people to carry out these plans and be the key changing force in the country.
However, whilst acknowledging the levels of poverty and all the other barriers that currently exist to
gaining good levels of education and an improved standard of living across the country, the impact of
poverty does not always seem to be seen as a major factor in the ability of the young people to fill this
role.

India 2020 proposes a range of factors that will improve the country for the whole population. This
includes aiming for full employment, improvements to the judicial system and legislature to create
systems that are seen to be operating with integrity, fairness and transparency, cleaning the
environment, achieving literacy and numeracy for all and making India a major nation in the world. This
must, however, be achieved by creating a fair society for every part of the population. One element that
is of concern is the ‘brain drain’ of skilled people leaving the country. India needs to finds ways of
retaining well trained young people to carry out the vision for the future. At present many young people
perceive that there are more opportunities for them elsewhere rather than wanting to stay in their
home country and improve conditions there (Glennie & Chappell, 2010). If the country wishes young
people to take a major leading role in progress it will be necessary to provide the appropriate motivation
for them to want to do this. Furthermore, in order to improve the conditions in the country as a whole
more trained people are needed to create and fill the jobs that will increase prosperity. There must, of
course, then be relevant jobs for the young people to take. Creating an environment that places value
on education, work, and creating a good work ethic is very important to making effective progress
towards a more economically successful country. This process will also begin to reduce the disparity
between the rich and poor, with the ultimate goal of absolute poverty being eradicated (although
eradicating relative poverty may prove more difficult) and improving the lives of the poorest in society.

The spiritual aspect of life is important in India and many people are guided in their lives by their beliefs.
There are even newer beliefs such as Bahá'í, which places emphasis on a number of areas that are
important in the changes indicated by India 2020. Bahá'í places importance on training for a trade or
profession, and particularly on the often neglected area of education for women. In addition there is
also a focus on ensuring young people have every opportunity to enter work which is of service to
others by virtue of one’s skills and abilities (Bahá'í, 2014). This type of approach could be very helpful to
young people to help to develop a good work ethic and the sense of community by helping others. It
also emphasises the need for good moral and spiritual standards to support the young person’s working
life. This is only one of the religions/beliefs in India, but it does indicate the way in which secular and
religious aspects of life are more integrated than is common in western countries.

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The desire to adhere to religious beliefs can be both a positive and negative factor for young people
depending on their particular religion and the way in which is directs them to behave as people. One
area of concern in this respect currently is that of the recruitment of young people by terrorist
organisations. This is clearly an issue from the point of view of the activities of such organisations, but it
also takes valuable young people out of society.

The International Year of Youth (first held in 1985),was supported by Bahá'í, who continue to support
the ongoing activities of that organisation (United Nations, 2014). This has widened in scope in the form
of The World Programme for Action of Youth (United Nations, 2014). In order to promote youth
involvement it is recommended by Bahá'í that young men and women should be encouraged to take
part in projects that aim to improve living conditions, increase the quality of human life, and develop the
self-reliance of their communities. Projects that are improving the situation for rural communities are
particularly highlighted as ones which are important for young people to engage with. Young people can
also play an important role in the quest for world peace.

Young people have been a main focus for some time in India, and specific initiatives have been sought to
involve young people in a range of topics. The Youth Day 2008 focussed on "Youth and Climate change:
Time for action." During this event Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressed the
meeting (Pandve, et al., 2009, p. 105). In this address he indicated that young people are adaptable and
can easily incorporate carbon saving methods into their everyday life. Therefore, it was important that
young people were actively included in local, national and global level decisions on climate. In this way
they will improve the world for their own futures and that of their children. Involving young people in
making changes to their everyday life is one main aspect of the role they are required to play in society.

Further initiatives will be needed to address many of the difficulties to support young people. Looking at
those offered in other countries could provide useful information, such that of “The Promoting
Tolerance and Dialogue through Interactive Theater” in Eastern Indonesia. This is a one-year program
funded by Great Britain's Strategic Program Fund and implemented by IREX Europe, IREX and the Center
for Civic Education Indonesia (CCEI). This is a programme that uses theatre to provide the dialogue to
work on prevention of conflict, extremism and intolerance (IREX, nd). This particular programme has
now ended but could be used as a model for future activities. With the difficulties that are currently
being seen as a result of terrorism this is an area of extreme importance and different methods of
approaching the topic can be used to spread the message to young people.
The call for young people to be involved in India politics began with Gandhi, who asked the youth of the
day to come forward to become actively involved in the freedom movemen (Atkin, 2012, p. np).
However, there are still few young people involved in the political arena. Most elected politicians are
aged 50 or over whilst most of the voting public are under 40 (Ruland, et al., 2005, p. 181). This suggests
either that younger people are happy with this situation or perhaps that they have little interest or
enthusiasm for politics. There can be confusion here when there is a suggestion that the older leaders
should make way for ‘youth’, because in this context the word ‘youth’ is used just to mean people
younger than others, i.e. perhaps people in their 30s or 40s rather than very young people with no
experience. This is something that is discussed widely in the media (Jain, 2009). This use of ‘youth’ to
mean different age groups, between 15 and 40 plus, can present a confusing message to readers.

Poverty reduction is a major issue in India and there has been work across the world that suggests that
involving young people in creating change to reduce poverty, and other important such issues, is vital
and more effective than allowing them to simply be the target for development. This may be promoted
from within India or it may be helpful for outside agencies already working in this area with young
people to help set up relevant initiatives (The National Council of Swedish Youth Organisations, 2009, p.
8).

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It is interesting to consider the more popular representations of the role that young people should play
in society. There is a marked view that older people should step down in preference to younger people
because only younger people have the ability to create change. The knowledge and experience of older
people is acknowledged but it can frequently be seen that there is pressure for them to take a ‘back
seat’, and only advise and guide, but not to actively participate (Kumar, 1998, p. 234). There does not as
yet appear to be any research to demonstrate how this will affect society and the way that younger
people feature, particularly in political and other such positions. However, it does appear to reduce the
respect and reverence in which older people have customarily been held, which could be seen to be
more in line with a more western approach where youth culture has become prominent.

Conclusion

India is a vast country with an enormous population that is increasing quite rapidly. There is a definite
move towards becoming a developed country but there are still many problems to be solved. Comparing
the situation in India with western countries presents challenges, as the cultural and social situation is
very different and there are very different belief structures. One key factor is that young people are
considered to be almost the ‘saving grace’ for the country. Great reliance is placed on young people
becoming educated and increasing the status and economic profitability of the country. This is set,
however, against poverty and poor educational offerings and achievement for large sections of the
population. Providing more equal opportunities for men and women and eradicating child labour are
two areas that will take great effort to resolve given and enormous number of people involved.

There have been great improvements in areas such as IT and space development which has meant that
some sectors of the youth have been able to move into those areas. However, in order to make the
progress that is sought for India to become a developed country, young people need to be motivated in
directions that will achieve that goal. There is a substantial concern regarding young people being drawn
into terrorism, and major changes in law and order remain to be achieved. So it can be seen that there is
much to be done and directives in place to work towards those aims. However, this does appear to place
a great deal of responsibility and reliance on younger people to make this happen.

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The Philippines today is tormented with various social afflictions – poverty, crime, corruption, and
indifference. Just as Jose Rizal and others like him exclaimed, the task of cultivating the motherland is
burdened upon the youth. Hence, how can we address these social ills plaguing Philippine Society? What
role does the youth play in addressing these social ills?

The youth, which by legal definition comprises those who are 15 to 30 years old, comprises almost one-
third of the country’s population. Given their large share in the Filipino population, the youth
increasingly play a large role in the development of the Philippine society. Their attitudes, values, mind-
set, and priorities will determine the development of the country in the future. With the crucial role the
society has placed upon the youth, it is imperative to instill a positive outlook upon today’s youth that
will orient them towards development. With that in mind, how does the youth view and react to this
challenge?

According to a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, the youth acknowledge economic matters, crime,
and governance as the country’s main problems. However, despite the fact that they acknowledged the
severity of these problems, most of them respond with either helplessness or apathy when asked what
they can do to help solve them. This is reflected in the youth’s behavior towards involvement and
participation in organizations and activities. According to SWS, Filipinos are not joiners. Only one of eight
Filipino youth are involved in religious or recreational organizations and only one oft of ten youth
organizations. Furthermore, the Filipino youth was found to have unexpectedly high incidences of
involvement in illegal activities such as illegal drug use, criminality, and illicit sex. Given these disturbing
facts about Filipino youth, will they have the ability to address the various social ills of the country?

The Global Partnership for Youth Development, suggested that one way to overcome the problems of
the youth and to better equip them towards the development of the society is through youth
empowerment. Empowerment could be manifested through greater opportunities for the youth. The
Youth must be given opportunities to participate in community life and capacity building. Their
leadership needs to be harnessed? Hence, opportunities such as the Sangguniang Kabataan, volunteer
projects such as Habitat for Humanity, where youth volunteers build housing for the poor. Also the
National Youth Commissions Projects such as Green Brigade, National Youth Parliament and the
National Youth Summit or (Pambansang Ugong Ng Kabataan) which I am an alumni, are examples of
events that some Filipino youth participate in to help solve the country'’ social problems.

According to the Filipino Youth Study survey conducted by the Global Filipino Foundation in 2001, Media
and technology are the other big things in their life. TV and radio have the highest reach. Technology is
still a function of class, but the Internet Cafes mushrooming in our midst will democratize their
availability to the youth. Globalization will happen faster in this generation as the world opens up
though media and technology. According to the youth, with the Internet, they can learn about anything.

The Internet is a great tool for building youth empowerment. We can create our own web pages to
promote youth participation. Like my webpage: www.kabataan.htmlplanet.com. Youth can develop
international solidarity by participating in online discussions, such as those held by Takingitglobal.org
and YouthActionNet.Org where I was one of the featured youth leaders. We can use the Internet to
connect with international youth organizations such as Advocates for youth, International Student
Activism Alliance, and Global Youth Action Network.

Unfortunately, computers and Internet access are not available to many youth, especially in Third-World
countries. This elimination in a technology-driven global community is equivalent to withholding
humanitarian aid to victims of famine. Therefore, one of the major tasks for youth wanting to ensure
youth participation and development is to find creative solutions to this imbalance. We could
"encourage" generosity from big computer companies by asking them to supply schools and libraries in
third-world countries with computers. We could lobby Congress to give incentives to businesses that
bring computer technology and the Internet to all disenfranchised people.

Thus, the youth could inspire both hope and fear in the society. Fear in the form of apathy, criminality,
and immorality. Hope in the form of participation, concern and volunteerism. Solving the country’s
social problems, then, is a challenge for the youth to bring hope rather than fear into our society.

The youth have a crucial role to play in shaping the future of our county, have that there is no doubt.
They have proven that they can be powerful agents of change. The question is, are they up to the
challenge?

Nearly half of all people in the world today are under the age of 25. Effectively addressing the special
needs of

these youth is a critical challenge for the future. Youth, individuals between the ages of 15 and 24, make
up over

one-sixth of the world’s population, but are seldom

recognized as a distinct group for the important role

they will play in shaping the future.

More than any other group, today’s young women

and men will impact how people in rich and poor

countries live in the 21st century. Unfortunately,

hundreds of millions of youth—especially young

women—lack education, skills and job training,

employment opportunities, and health services

effectively limiting their futures at a very early age.

As a result, youth may react by unleashing risky or

harmful behavior against themselves or society.

Although youth may often be perceived as contributing

to society’s problems, they are, in fact, important

assets for the economic, political, and social life of

their communities. Addressing key global threats—

like the spread of HIV/AIDS, growing poverty, and political stability in developing countries—depends on

protecting the rights of youth and providing them with the support they need to contribute to the
health and

well-being of society.

This fact sheet outlines the major challenges facing youth and highlights policy and program
recommendations in

the key issue areas of education and training, economic opportunities, and health and sexuality.

Issue Brief

The Critical Role of Youth in Global Development

Defining Youth

The meaning of the terms “youth,” “adolescents,”

and “young people” varies in different societies, as

do the different roles and responsibilities ascribed to

members of each group. In Egypt, for example, the

average male enters the workforce at the age of 15,

and in Niger about 75% of women give birth before

their 20th birthday. This fact sheet uses the United

Nations’ definitions:

! Adolescents: 10-19 years of age (early

adolescence 10-14; late adolescence 15-19)

! Youth: 15-24 years of age

! Young People: 10-24 years of age

Challenges Facing Youth

The challenges facing today’s youth have a

tremendous impact on their quality of life. Their

reactions will affect their families and communities,

and the countries and regions in which they live.

! The number of youth is growing. At 1.1 billion,

the world today has the largest number of youth

ever, and this number is increasing.

! Youth are poor. About 85% of the world’s youth

live in poor countries.