There are more people under the age of 25 today than ever, totalling nearly three billion - or half of humankind − of which 1.8 billion are between the ages 10 and 24. Youth are the most prominent demographic of many countries, sometimes totalling over 70 per cent of the population. These youth live, largely, in cities and towns; the cities of the developing world account for over 90 per cent of the world’s urban growth and it is estimated that as many as 60 per cent of all urban dwellers will be under the age of 18 by 2030. In Nigeria, where I come from, over 50 per cent of the population are young people aged 18-29. It is important to make the most of this demographic opportunity, as young people might serve as a source of advancement and a building block on which countries can launch their economic development plan.

 

There are many factors including lack of skills, limited access to education, and a dearth of employment that hinder youth participation and bring about inequality. The importance of education cannot be overemphasized. Proper education increases job prospects and employability for youth. In the MY World global survey hosted by the United Nations, over one million participants voted education as a global priority.

 

Inequality must be addressed as it breeds distrust and frustration which can lead to violence. Lack of political participation, civic engagement and community mobilization, coupled with the low quality education hinders any city to be equitable. There must be a conscientious effort to encourage and prepare young people for urban governance. There are specific mentions of youth in strategic plans and policy outcome documents, yet we must understand to what extent these policies are youth responsive. An example of work being done in this area is UN-Habitat’s Youth and Land project. In this project, youth from Yemen, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nepal and Brazil have undertaken participatory research projects exploring youth and land policy and practices. One tool being created from this project is youth responsiveness criteria for land policy.

 

As a child, I had the immense privilege of serving as the inaugural Chief Whip of my country’s National Children’s Parliament – a position which afforded colleagues and I the opportunity to learn from older parliamentarians and to advance causes that centre on the protection, development, survival, and participation rights of all children in Nigeria. This decision making role at an early age further emboldened me to speak up for youth inclusion in decision making as I transition to youth. A particular scenario I vividly remember was when my team and I synergized action in the wake of the call for inclusion of youth delegates to our National Government’s Political Reform Conference in 2005, after the initial exclusion of youths from the Conference. My speech on a national television breakfast show during that period resonates for me today: “You say we are Nigeria’s future and yet you lock us out. Definitely you cannot hold us responsible for the future in which we are not a part of the planning process because there is nothing for us without us.” These coordinated efforts and others ultimately led to the inclusion of six youth delegates by the Federal Government the following week. It might also interest you to know that the number of youth delegates has since tripled at our ongoing National Conference.

 

The United Nations is setting an exemplary lead for National Governments in the way that it engages youth. Notable achievements include the appointment of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, creation of youth advisory boards for various agencies such as UN-Habitat’s Youth Advisory Board, and the increasing involvement of youth in consultations on wide ranging issues such as urbanization, post-2015 development agenda, Habitat III amongst others.

 

The World Urban Forum and the World Urban Youth Assembly is being held between the 5th and 11th April in Medellin with the theme of Urban Equity in Development – Cities for Life. The conference brings together thousands of delegates to discuss issues related to the post-2015 development agenda and begin the global preparatory process of the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III). Youth are taking the lead on Habitat III through parallel processes sponsored by the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board and partners such as the Norwegian Children and Youth Council.

 

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan aptly sums up the importance of youth participation for equitable cities: “No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.” Youth must be meaningfully engaged as an equal partner because there is no future without young people’s engagement.

 

About the Author:
Francis Anyaegbu is a multiple award winning global changemaker with extensive experience in creating and managing youth led development projects. He currently serves as Africa’s Representative on the UN-HABITAT Youth Advisory Board and also chairs the Board’s Committee on the Post-2015 development agenda. He is available on Twitter and tweets from @francisanyaegbu.