Information Communication Technology for Youth Development

St. Gallen, Switzerland, October 09, 2009 - "The youth are really the generation we are talking about when we address the issue of ICT..." were the words of the President of Zimbabwe during the current TELECOM World 2009 Conference in Geneva Switzerland.

In light of the just ending Information Telecommunication Union's TELECOM World 2009 conference I recall an article that I published on this blog in July called, "Africa: Investment in Technology to Attract Youths & for Development". In this article I pointed out in line with CIYDA's effort the need for Zimbabwe amongst other African governments to develop Information Technology (IT) platforms for youths.

With IT at the heart of CIYDA's initiatives in youth development in Zimbabwe I took time out to follow proceedings at the conference in Geneva through various forms. I was quite eager to find out what the Zimbabwean delegation had to say about IT development and how it is paramount for youth development in Zimbabwe.

CIYDA welcomes the President’s effort in highlighting youths as one of the main reasons why IT is crucial not only for their development but to bring Zimbabwe as well as the whole continent at par with the rest of the world in IT use. It is true, in the article published in last month’s CIYDA Newsletter, how young people are acquiring more developmental tools from harnessing postive elements from the Internet etc.

As encouraging as such insights are it is easier said than done and it will take a lot of concerted effort from within Zimbabwe and outside Zimbabwe to bring the youths on board to harness the importance of IT in their long term development. Governments can only do so much and organisations like CIYDA can also only do so much in providing funds and initiatives respectively on the ground. At a similar gathering of the Information Telecommunication Union (ITU), in December 2003, the President of Zimbabwe said,

Mr. President, long after we have talked about the need for information and communication technologies as tools with which to contrive the information society, we are soon to discover that receivers and computers are powered by electricity which is unavailable in a typical Third World village. Long after we have talked about connectivity, we are soon to discover that most platforms for electronic communication need basic telecommunication infrastructure which does not exist in a typical African village.

What is worse, we will discover, much to our dismay, that the poor villager we wish to turn into a fitting citizen for our information society, is in many instances unable to read and write. Where we are lucky to find the villager literate and numerate, we soon discover that he or she is not looking for a computer terminal but for a morsel of food; an antibiotic to save his dying child; a piece of land on which to eke out an existence, in short, looking for a humane society that guarantees him food, health, shelter and education.

Despite the evident challenges highlighted in the statement above, CIYDA as a youth development advocate, through IT will continue striving to act as a youth information hub in all aspects of development for young people. This is in such areas as Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Volunteering and Mentorship. Through innovative and inclusive approaches son to be boosted by the current restructuring exercise within CIYDA, that will see delegates at regional level we aim to make a grass roots difference for ALL Zimbabwean youths by bringing them onboard to share in our developmental initiatives. We are confident with the continued right support internally and externally our initiatives will reach fruition. Sometimes it’s the small things that make a difference. As one writer once said, “It’s not about where you’re from but where you’re going that matters...” and at CIYDA we are confident we’re headed for better things as Zimbabwean youths.

Disclaimer: - Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein from other websites, CIYDA cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Unless otherwise indicated, opinions transferred from other websites and expressed herein are those of the author of the ORIGINAL article and do not necessarily represent the views of CIYDA, CIYDA Executive Director, CIYDA Team or CIYDA Associates.

What is CIYDA
Contemporary Indigenous Youth Development Africa (CIYDA) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2008 and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. CIYDA is working to develop and empower the youths of Zimbabwe for the benefits of the nation and Africa as a continent through the use of new media, information technology and networking amongst other things. Through these drivers, CIYDA aims to facilitate an information hub and service provision in the areas of Business Start-up, Social & Cultural Integration, Socio-economic Mentoring and Volunteering. CIYDA currently has a network connection of over 500 Zimbabwean youths in many countries amongst them, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia and Canada.