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Invest in youth to strengthen governance and democracy
Thankfully, the evidence suggests that today’s young generation is no stranger to the innovation that will be essential to rising to the challenge.
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Pledge to the nation: Students of junior and senior high schools in Bogor, West Java, attend the celebration of the Youth Pledge Day on Oct.28. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
O
ne could well lose heart in parts of Southeast Asia if all you did is read the headlines or the social media feeds. The Philippines is a case in point. Even during this nation’s holiday season, today’s banner news and trending tweets and Facebook posts from this country of more than 100 million people on more than 7,000 islands tend to magnify the many not insignificant challenges facing the country.
The ongoing war on drugs, the battle against violent extremists in Mindanao and the seemingly endemic corruption and enduring poverty that has eroded public confidence in government across presidential administrations are not for the faint of heart.
Solving these problems requires not just the commitment and ingenuity of current politicians, but the engagement of the next generation of civic and political leaders. That’s as true in Indonesia as it is the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar and elsewhere in a region where democracy often struggles.
Thankfully, the evidence suggests that today’s young generation is no stranger to the innovation that will be essential to rising to the challenge.
