This is a copy of a speech i deliveed at the 2007 launch of the state of the world report. so just though i could share it with tig and get feedback

YOUTH PERSPECTIVE OF URBANIZATION

Urbanization is nothing new for developing countries especially amongst the youth. Young people from across countries have always migrated to urban cities, bringing with them few possessions, great expectations and an eagerness to engage fully in a better life while leaving behind the constraints of rural life.

To the youth the city is their answer to all social and economic problems; it presents a wealth of opportunities. Especially cities like Gaborone which is a thriving financial, industrial, administrative and educational hub of Botswana,

Once in the city the youth then find themselves in a rapidly changing urban environment where they then tend to learn much about what to expect and how to behave from their peers and increasingly from the mass media, unlike in villages where traditional rural communities and established customs have always been there as social guides for the youth. This has led to the creation of a new youth culture that is urban in nature. This is particularly common in developing countries like ours where the certainties of rural tradition are giving way to urban life with its risks, individual freedoms and more complex social demands.

Some young rural migrants came with the assumption that employment and educational openings are larger and better in big cities and rightly so, however the competition is quite high and often outnumbers the available openings, This common situation is even more difficult if you do not have a recognized person saying “this is my boy, give him a chance.” As a result the youth become desperate and hopeless and begin resenting their exclusions from the promise of city life. These exclusions and frustrations can lead to other unconstructive aspects of this youth culture which are reflected in certain risk behaviors which include high alcohol and drug consumption, crime and violence. In addition factors such as long periods of unemployment, dropping out of school, social background and marginalization of the youth can also lead to these risk behaviors in today’s youth. Some of the factors have also resulted in new fashionable yet social and moral ills, like the increase in intergenerational relaintionships where the youth now have ‘sugar mommies or daddies for material gains. Also common is the new trend of ‘senyora’ where young men loiter the streets stealing cell phones, watches and cash from their peers. Though these activities are common in cities and amongst the urban youth they are still not accepted in society.

Instead of turning into delinquents some urban youth in desperation have resorted to ‘forced entrepreneurship’ where they run carwashes, sell airtime, wait restaurant tables and even plait hair. Such jobs if they can be called that bring in minimal income which means the young still have limited access to the amenities the city offers. The few who can afford these amenities have struck lucky and got an education, found a stable job with a suitable income or they just come from well off families.


If ‘forced entrepreneurship’ fails some youth then turn to more interactive and constructive avenues like participating or forming youth community organizations where they bring together their skills and ideas to help each other survive or bring attention to their struggles through drama, art, music or fashion. This positive aspect of ‘urban youth culture’ has helped shape and express the identities of urban youth and it is here where mass media plays quite an influential role of imparting knowledge to urban youth an
d socializing them to particular attitudes often in contradiction to the traditions of their culture. Mass media has also enabled this youth culture to become a global phenomenon where youth across the globe share similar tastes, fashions and ideals. However these opportunities for participation in the global village through information and technology are generally higher for urban youth than their rural counterparts.

In conclusion the young urban lifestyles presented here are of young people and the opportunities, pressures and risks of urban life. These urban youth, some who have left the countryside all seek and compete for the same openings and lifestyles, a fight that can lead to many of them becoming desperate and turning into perpetrators of crime themselves. The future of cities like Gaborone depends on the future of young people in particular it depends on what policy makers can do to equip young people with tools that can break this cycle of poverty. This in turn depends on involving young people in decisions that affect them. Investments in the youth are the key to ending generations of poverty. In particular it is the key to reaching the Millenniums Development Goals and halving poverty by 2015.