Youth Freedom Of Speech

Has the saying “the youths of today are the leaders of tomorrow”, become obsolete? The fact remains that in order to ensure a brighter tomorrow there must be the requirement for a vision today. The vision of brighter future is largely dependent on the freedom of speech for youths in a democratic society. The freedom of speech for young peo¬ple today within a democratic society can produce favourable political, economic and social results.

Contrastingly, if young people could not have any freedom of speech, the eco¬nomic costs for a country would be very high. Amadeo Pietro Giannini (1870 – 1949), an American banker who founded the Bank of America said, “I leave everything to the young men. You’ve got to give youthful men authority and responsibility

Youths are often seen as non-essential contributors to society, mainly because of their behavior and age, but the active involvement of youth would serve to highlight their values and provide opportunities to erase this perception. They can be responsible, if given the chance, to educate their peers in an organized manner or informally, giving their personal views on issues such as health and safety. Peer education can take place in a variety of settings such as in schools and universities, clubs, churches, workplaces, or on the street; all in an effort to build better communities. For example, the Fifth African Development Forum in its publication, “Youth and African Development, 2006”, indicated that peer education has been used successfully for raising HIV/AIDS awareness and developing life-skills amongst vulnerable youth. Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, was also quoted as saying, “... A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death”. Their involvement would make a difference in changing the unpleasant local conditions in society through new ideas and services. Such ability would prove that they are effective in the decision-making process, that their opinions are

Being realistic, if young people are told that their views of political aspects are useless; this can concretize lifetime attitudes, which can cause significant negative impacts on a country’s political customs. Their ability to voice their opinion, whether formally or informally could enhance political progress and also may be important for greater cohesion between the present and future leaders. If the young cannot engage politics our political echelons would encounter trouble in creating and maintaining fair policies for future generations. So what is better than the future leaders of tomorrow expressing their visions today? Youth Parliament is a great opportunity for youths to get involved and exercise their freedom of speech. In the UK, for example, youth parliament is open to 11-18 year olds in order to bring about social change. It is strong belief that if enough is done for the youths of today to get involved with politics through their voices they would have more access to politics in order to shape the world they reside in presently for the future. Through their active contributions, improved values of a democratic society can evade totalitarian regimes but if youths are not included political frustration is likely to surface, which inevitably corrodes democratic