Development of a country depends on how productive and creative its young population is and how much importance the government accords to its youth. By creating safe spaces, the youth get an opportunity to share and discuss ideas and make informed opinion

The government’s slogan of “Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali” sounds quite mellifluous. But whether this dream can be materialised largely depends on how much importance the state accords to the youth.

Nepal has an immense potential to reap its demographic dividend, for youths account for 40.3 per cent of the total population of the country. Hence the country’s overall development largely hinges on how the government addresses the needs and interests of the young population.

There seems to be some sort of insecurity among the youths in Nepal. Thousands of young people are leaving the country today to work and study in foreign countries. In terms of working population, statistics say around 1,500 young Nepalis—men and women—leave the country, especially for the Gulf nations and Malaysia, in search of employment. This clearly shows unemployment is a major problem in the country.

Hence, one of the greatest challenges for today’s government is to find a way to retain the youths within the country. The only way to keep our young people in the country is creating employment opportunities for them.

The skills and strength of the youth with different views, faiths and ethnic backgrounds must be duly recognised so that they can be engaged in development activities.

With political stability achieved after a long gap, the country now aims to embark on the path of rapid economic development. But it will remain a pipe dream unless the youth population is engaged in activities that contribute to economic development.

When we have our youth population in the country, there arises the need of safe spaces for them. Safe spaces provide the youths with a platform where they can discuss and share ideas, express their views freely and form informed opinions.

With youths a country may achieve economic development but to ensure sustainable development, they must be given safe spaces. In this context, there is a need of youth policy in the country which sets the guiding principles for creating safe spaces for youths, particularly for those from the excluded groups, so as to ensure that they can talk and implement their education, skills and innovation.

Safe spaces are vital for providing an opportunity for youths from diverse backgrounds to come together to contribute. Under the coordination of youth organisations, various programmes can be implemented to develop the personality and leadership of youths.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 aim to make a better place to live in. The Sustainable Development Goals put inclusive growth at the core. The major goals of SDGs are eradicating poverty, inequality and social exclusion in a sustainable manner.

It is also a major requirement to make safe public green open spaces which should be accessible for all people including women, children, elderly and differently-abled people.  The United Nations’ New Urban Agenda also has set a new global standard for sustainable urban development to promote equity, welfare and shared prosperity. In Nepal, it is necessary to mobilise small rural communities and villages for social and economic growth.

After the devastating earthquake in 2015, we are still in the resettlement and rebuilding process. So the collective force of youth is needed to drive the New Urban Agenda forward.

Globally, SDGs have clearly laid out a policy of encouraging youths and providing them equitable share in the development process. The United Nation’s Youth Framework lays emphasis on physical, psychological and cognitive development of the youth. In the present situation, the main priority of the government should be protection and promotion of migrant youths as well as enhancing the young people’s skills. Policymakers of Nepal hence must work to establish safe spaces for youths to facilitate the SDGs’ procession.

Development of any country depends on how productive and creative its youth population is. The present role of youths is as the passive recipients, but they should be prioritised as an active agent of development. The government needs to empower the youths to exploit their full potential in right places for the overall development of the country.

The challenges for youths central to economic development are varied according to gender, ethnicity, education level, religion and geography. The role of the youth is more consequential and functional for every nation building. In every nation historical changes have been made due to the active involvement of youths.

In the history of Nepal, youth participation in every political and economic movement cannot be ignored. Youths are conductor of social change; they are the future of the country. Therefore the government needs to address youths’ concerns through policy and programmes.

Youths can play a vital role in eliminating poverty and reducing inequality and to ensure that everyone benefits from development and no one is left behind, it is imperative that they be provided with safe spaces. Empowering youths means empowering the nation.

Subedi is central president of National Federation of Youth NGO Nepal