Youths in Enugu state have called for openness and collaboration of adults, especially senior citizens, to move the society forward through innovative ideas.
The youth made the appeal Thursday during an International Youth Day 2022 Symposium with the theme: “Inter-generational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages.”
The one day symposium was organised by the South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO) and Actionaid.
The executive director of New Century Initiative, Mr Collins Nebo, said that most adults feel unsecured working with young people especially the intelligent ones.
Nebo said life is like a cycle and everyone should be given opportunity to add something to open up, sharing their experience and limitation for younger ones to carry on.
He said: “It is rather sad that unlike in the advance climes, elders and adults cherish young people coming close, learning and taking life advancement forward.
“We must start advocating a change in the narrative and letting the senior citizens today know that they have huge responsibility of mentorship and ensuring youth take off from where they stop to move the society forward.”
The convener of Initiative for Girls and Women Enlightenment, Miss Florence Ugwu, said youth must maximise the use of social media to deepen advocacy for inter-generational shift and change.
Ugwu stated that youth should not only dominate the social media space but ensure that they pull the adults into it and let everyone be in the same positive page on moving the community or society forward.
“Social media remains the greatest weapon of change the youth have for mobilisation, reorientation and awareness on issues that affect everyone and use same to ensure the adult population is carried along,” he said.
The chief executive of Sparks Consults, Mrs Chinyere Otuonye, urged youth to ensure that they do everything to sell their visions and programmes for the understanding of all.
Otuonye, who delivered a lecture on “Achieving Youth Empowerment through Inter-generational Collaboration”, stated that youth must ensure that they explain clearly the benefits of their visions or programmes to each generation.
“We have to build support systems for all to key-in and practically show people the social and empowerment benefits of our visions and programmes for all generations,” she said.
