Our National Duties

Once Martin Luther King said, Injustice anywhere is a bane to justice everywhere. We ar caught in an inescapable network of commonity, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects star directly, affects al unneurotic indirectly. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says that, In this parvenue era, peoples accomplishs constantly-if a lot unwittingly-affect the lives of others living far away. Globalization offers great opportunities, only when at portray its benefits are very unevenly distributed magic spell its costs are innate(p) by all.He emphasizes six shared values, which are of particular relevance to the rising century degagedom, equity and solidarity, adjustment, non-violence, extol for nature and shared responsibility. The smart(a) existence is becoming smaller, highly integrated and technologically much advanced. It is standardizedly becoming highly fragmented, less slumberful and unsafe for both present(a) and future tense propagations. Spect acular advances in science and technology over the closing curtain five decades make believe revolutionized the entire field. Investments in research and development have resulted in innovations and inventions in both product and factor markets.The benefits of these advancements however, have insofar to reach the poor living in many countries across the world. meagreness is on the increase and we are sitting on billions of human landmines. The world today is passing through an environment full of tensions, violence, declining values, injustice, reduced tolerance and pry for human rights. The gun culture has already taken a dominant position in most of the developing countries, threatening the future of the offspring who deserve a two-eyed violetful and better quality of life. there is a greater need to create a culture of spring chicken Leadership in society through an come onive affaire of juvenility in civic activities. Adult leaders, parliamentarians and form _or_ system of governmentmakers at community, municipality, state, national and international levels should checker that they are responsible for ensuring that the 21st century is characterized as a century of callowness Leadership. The world today is indeed in search of a new culture and a mutual system of values and new behavioral patterns for individuals, groups and nations, because, without them, the major problems of international and internal rest tin can non be solved.The fill-in of the existing culture of violence by a culture of calm can only be achieved in a longer perspective. In a period of transition and accelerated change marked by the expression of intolerance, manifestation of racial and ethnic hatred, violence towards those regarded as others and the exploitation disparities between the rich and the poor. Action strategies mustiness aim at ensuring natural freedom, peace, human rights, and democracy and at promoting harbourable and equitable economic and mi xer development all of which have an essential part to play in construction a culture of peace.What do we expect from the young person with the insertion of the culture of peace? The juvenility with their new ideas, new energy and objective background, can contribute to peace development. They are ready to move in community work. jejuneness should be treated as partners-partnership by younker in all social activities, of governance, community activities-should start in an active manner with the entry of the child into the golden age phase of 15 to 25 years. Youth should genuinelyize that they should not wait for the inheritance of the world they must realize they have already inherited the world while entering into the golden age.Development of callowness as productive citizens and peace workers could be a starting point for developing the peace culture. In the world today, one person in five is between the ages of 15 to 25, which is an accepted UN exposition of the age t hat defines youth. There are altogether more than one billion youth, constituting a influenceidable force. About 85 percent live in developing countries with 60 percent in Asia, or about 800 million youth in the Asian region. Moreover, two thirds of these youth are growing in countries, which have extremely low per capita incomes (PCIs), below the PCI of $700 per annum.The needs and aspirations of young people are still mostly unmet. The youth employment and livelihood problem is particularly acute and growing in the developing countries while the bulk of corporate resources are controlled by highly-developed countries. Moreover, action on youth employment and livelihood remain disadvantageously defined. Poverty breeds an environment, which encourages social deviations like drug-addiction, excessive smoking, alcoholism, and tendencies towards suicide. Most problems among youth in developing countries are nurtured by their perception of an uncertain and unstable future.However, o ne thing is clear among all youth that they want to make something of them, and to sustain the value of family solidarity. Todays youth are often nescient about adult leaders and they may express the desire to participate in society through volunteer work but not in politics. Alienated youth, particularly when they form a large similarity of the population, entrust turn their energy to drugs, crime, violence and even revolution. Unengaged youth represent a wasted economic resource. Youth of today is in search of its identity.They are less inclined towards conflicts and wars unless external forces compel them to do so. International studies clearly indicate that todays youth are concerned about issues relating to family, education and employment. The youth express their need for a sense of independence, competence and participation in the mainstreams of society. They should be perceived as key agents for social change, including peace development, economic development and technolo gical innovation. The riddle is that even as they represent societies greatest hope, they are a group who risk an uncertain and unstable future.How to involve these young men and women in building and designing their future, and the future of coming generations, is the key issue confronting the progress of our societies. The world today stands at a crossroad. However, the path of peace up remains clear for the world if we pursue three goals firstly, a common mental imagery of our future society anchored on peace secondly, the core of shared values that animate our desires and preferences, grounds for peace which is acceptable to all religions, peoples, nations, families and communities, and hirdly, the world power for united venture that brings people-empowered action for the attainment of a peace vision guided by the values we cherish. The peace factor must be used to resolve prime issues such as (i) the persistent poverty of people, especially those in rural areas, (ii) the soci al injustice that continues to prevail in our societies and then often divisive and counter-productive ways of governance. The index to development, therefore, must be human in dimension, content and lifestyle anchored on peace.In the expression of the National Peace Development Policy for Youth, we must deviate from tradition and formulate policy with active participation of the youth. In this case, policy definition and strategy have to be applied flexibly by involving and activation the youth right from the very start. It should not begin with elders and senior policy-makers and leaders, but take grassroots hold with the youth from day one. The youth must be empowered to find their own niche and roles in the trade union of national development, and be the major force for peace development.All steps in the exercise should be taken in consultation with the distinct levels of participating youth from the national down to the state, district, municipal and village levels. Youth constitutes the richest wealth of a domain. They develop quality of personal integrity, personal case and open mindedness. It is enriched further when they develop an open attitude and universal outlook. As youth is a period of passions, emotions, activity and vigor, they should be trained to corporate trust enthusiasm with patience.Youth should develop an open attitude and universal outlook. This is the real empowerment of youth. Empowering or enabling is like a affect similar to give lessonsing and fishing. For preserving peace, youth must play a decisive role. Youth should be receptive to merit of tolerance and nonviolence. Youth should realize the vastness of living together and should be responsible to defend the frontiers of peace and non-violence. This warrants the promotion of a new culture and thus a assorted mindset.Hence, a comprehensive rethinking is required in all walks of life with a sum total commitment to the issues of youth development. Educational experi ences should be provided to youth with an objective to kindle their tolerance level and help them understand the merits of tolerance and respect for severalty. Respecting the others goes much farther than tolerance. Education must promote an aptitude of free inquiry, frank and vigorous discussion and willingness to work in teams.Education should teach the youth not only to tolerate differences but also to respect differences. In spiritual development, the youth can form a new phalanx of peace missionaries building up volunteers and NGO networks at the grassroots, concentrating on values education and spiritual renewal among children, women and the youth to reverse the process of family values in which traditionally, it is the elders who impose on the youth this beat it will be the young helping shape family values through utilize youth peace missionaries.In the area of ethnic development, the youth of different ethnic groups can forge impingings between cultural minorities and broadcast shared values, shared religious values, and shared cultures and traditions handed down from generation to generation. In policy-making development, youth can be trained to form the cadre of youth animators to expose the rural poor to democratic processes and institutions, to consensus building and voting mechanics, to party and government platforms.In socio-economic development, the youth can join internship/training programs with agricultural, manufacturing, and service industries, sharpen their skills to become the forward-looking manpower needful by their countries to help their economies compete favorably against international competition.In political/government development, the youth can engage in internships in the parliamentary institutions, join in political awareness-building, reform political parties and remove the vileness of partisan politics, and at the same time force reforms in the bureaucracy to ensure near governance, accountability, transparency, an d citizenry participation. E-government strategy can effectively certification such programs.In force affairs, the youth can become the countrys elite guards dedicated to patriotism, protection of children, women, oppressed and poor, and through incorporated vigilance and closeness with the people, provide the moral counterpart to the abuses of ambitious generals and military demagogues. Finally, in regional and international development, the youth can become peace ambassadors of their respective countries, promoting exchange programs in education, culture, science and echnology, sports and games, and in tourism promotions, to link all the youth of the region and the world in the pursuit and alimentation of peace and democracy. Youth Leadership activities cannot be confined to schools. They should be exposed to the real socio-political environment. That is missing today. In addition to peace development, these youth forums should, from time to time, include planning and implemen tation of environmental programs, family planning, information technology, health and sanitation, and so forthForum participants should focus on the benefits of peace, non-violence to strengthen tolerance through participation in community affairs, anniversaries in which all can participate thereby fostering a culture of peace and tolerance through a system of community education in put to promote respect and mutual understanding. The new millennium offers the worlds people a unique opportunity to reflect on their common destiny, at a moment when they find themselves interconnected as never before. In this new-fashioned World, groups and individuals interact directly across frontiers more often, without involving the state.This also has its dangers in impairment of crime, narcotics, terrorism, weapons, refugees and migrants all move back and forth faster and in greater numbers than in the past. But new technologies also create opportunities for mutual understanding and common act ion. If we are to get the best out of globalization and modern technologies as well as avoid the worst, we must drive to govern better with emphasis on good governance and alter of civil society, and how to govern better together. People are looking to their leaders to identify and act on the challenges ahead.There is no denying the fact that youth are important asset of any nation, making up 800 million of Asias population. They should be the primary concern of political leaders, religious leaders, policy makers, planners, administrators and others interested in development including peace development. The youth are notional and innovative. They are in a better position to introduce new dimensions contributing to the current socio-political and economic dialogue, particularly in the area of peace development.Hence, the national governments should give priority to the UN declarations of National Peace Policies and Action Programs. Nations are underdeveloped for many reasons, but certainly the major reasons are short-handed leadership, and absence of youth participation. We must now look to the youth. The modern electronic media have an essential role to play in the preparation of youth in a spirit of peace, justice, freedom, mutual respect and understanding, in order to promote human rights, equality of rights between all human beings and all nations, and economic and social progress.Equally, they have an important role to play in making known the views and aspirations of the youth with special focus on good governance, transparency, tolerance and democracy. In the ultimate analysis, my dear fellow participants and youth leaders, I am sure that together we can lay the foundations of our shared future, together we can build bridges of love and tryst and together we can help translate the dreams and visions espoused at hundreds of such conferences before this one.With hope, faith and courage, curtly we shall be able to tell our elders that yes when given th e chance to deliver, we have make and done it in style. At least, we would leave this world as a much better place to live than we had inherited. Times cry for action and action here and now. Mark Twain said this for you, me and all of us Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the thing you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. traverse away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover