The youths all over the world have been acknowledged as an important human resource with the potential to contribute significantly to national development and therefore must be accorded such recognition and be involved in national development. For the avoidance of any doubt, youth is defined as a male or female person aged between 15 and 35 years, in line with African Youth Charter. According to Rwanda’s vision 2050, the human capital pillar “seeks to reap the economic benefits from its “demographic dividend” through an integrated approach that ensures that decline in fertility is backed up by essential investments in human capital development and economic reforms so that the country has a healthy, well educated, and highly skilled labour force that is gainfully employed.” The 2022 population census for Rwanda reveals that youths make up 65 per cent of its population. The youth demographic dividend must, therefore, be taken advantage of as a competitive advantage of the future, but this can only happen by adopting the right mind-sets and attitude. In order to harness the skills, energy, ambitions and aspirations of youths, it is critical that any policy framework which is developed must include the youths themselves. Such a policy framework must consider how we can deliberately create an environment in all sectors of our economy which creates broad access to new opportunities and possibilities for our youths. Any sustainable youth policy needs to focus on the economic empowerment of youth through employment creation, entrepreneurship development and education and skills development. In other words, how do we create social and economic policies and an environment that allows our youths to have access to resources so that they may live up to their full potential? Our approach to the youth empowerment agenda must be guided by key principles which include the following; Youths are an asset and not a liability- Perceiving young people as a resource focuses on long-term solutions, identifying needs and developing policies in order to let young people realise their full potential as citizens and let society benefit the most from its intellectual capital. Accessibility- Young men and women of diverse backgrounds must have access to resources and services needed for their development. We must promote equal access to socio economic and employment opportunities commensurate with abilities, potential and the needs of the youth where they reside. Equality and Equity- Equal opportunities and equitable distribution of resources, is essential. Inclusiveness- All youth development initiatives must not discriminate against any youth on the basis of sex, age, gender, race, disability or any other form of discrimination. We must promote gender equity and equality, including working to eliminate all forms of discrimination at all levels. Respect for Human Rights- All we do must be in conformity with universally recognized human rights without discrimination based on gender, race/origin, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, language, political affiliation or social status. Respect for Cultural, Religious, Customary and Ethical Values - We must promote respect for positive cultural, religious, customary and ethical values of different communities. Transparency and Accountability- Promote transparency and accountability among institutions and organizations involved in youth development. Participation- All youths must take the responsibility to fully participate contribute and benefit from youth initiatives and programmes Overall objective is to promote the economic participation of the youth in national development through access to education, skills development, employment creation and entrepreneurship development. The fundamental cornerstones towards youth empowerment must include; Education and skills development Promote informal and skills training and development at local levels including basic life skills. Advocate for the increased access to school infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Establish sectorial based youth incubators and create broad access for youths. Promote scholarships and bursaries for youth to further their education for youth. Establish youth exchange programmes. Undertake youth leadership training and development programmes in each province. Address issues that may be preventing youth from accessing basic education. Intensify internships in specific sectors as developmental tools for youth. Employment creation Facilitate the certification of skills gained outside the formal skills training sector. Recommend for the establishment of national apprenticeship and internship programmes to prepare youth for employment. Advocate for the development of a comprehensive and accessible database of labour market information. Engage investors to fund youth projects or companies. Entrepreneurship development Promote entrepreneurial education and skills training at all levels of education. Facilitate the transition of informal enterprises into the formal economy. Promote the use of ICT for improved productivity, creativity and innovation in youth enterprises. Enhance financial literacy programmes targeting the youth. Promote the participation of youth entrepreneurs in national and international business linkage programmes and industrial clusters. Establish and support business and technological hub/incubators Advocate for youth preferential procurement both in public and private sectors Engage the Private Sector on initiatives and linkages to promote youth enterprise development Facilitate youth access to land for enterprise development Engage local leadership to support youth participation in local economic development In my opinion, these should be the fundamental cornerstones of youth development initiatives which must be applied in all sectors of the economy, the key ones being agriculture, mining, energy, ICT, tourism, industry, trade, infrastructure, arts and entertainment. The good news is that Rwanda is implementing most of these policies already and what is key is for youths to come to the table and take full advantage of these opportunities. After all is said and done, the future is in their hands. Vince Musewe is an economist and you can contact him directly at vtmusewe@gmail.com
