YOUTH BUILDING PEACE: AS ZIMBABWEAN YOUTH GET GEARED FOR YOUTH DAY



Dear Zimbabwean Youth
By Alfred Towo 
The International Youth Day 2017 is dedicated to celebrating young people’s contributions to peace, conflict prevention and transformation as well as inclusion, social justice and sustainable peace.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development committed to fostering peaceful and inclusive societies and affirmed that “Sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security”. Goal 16 aims to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. As young people, this is the time to take stock of our lives and address the deeply embedded culture of violence to defuse tensions, prevent violence and uphold peace in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is battling an upsurge in illicit drug trafficking, abuse and the associated mental health problems, which mostly affect the end users, their families and the communities they live in. Undeniably drug abuse has a big influence as it lead directly to increased instances of violent crime, political insurgencies, and weakened states.
 Election cycles from 1980 to 2013 witnessed varying levels of election-related violence in which young people were involved as both the perpetrators and victims of violence as recorded in a 2007 report on political violence issued by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. Coping mechanisms have been eroded leaving families and communities unable to deal with tensions and conflicts especially the desperate and vulnerable youths who are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, conflict and insecurity because of lack of gainful opportunities.
The manipulation of youths by the political elite in Zimbabwe diminishes human security and prospects for development in Africa. As youth we are the changer makers and our role in matters of Peace and Security can no longer be ignored.
There will be no lasting resolution to conflict unless the youth are in the lead as peace is not just the absence of violence, but a nationwide, structural condition.
With elections scheduled for 2018, an economy on the verge of collapse and protests turning increasingly violent, there is an urgent need to amplify our voices, create spaces to express our opinions on matters of Peace Building.
I invite you to share peace messages what peace means to you, your family and your individual communities. In a move that is expected to ensure that peace and tolerance prevails. As we count down to the International Youth Day, I would love to have your voices as youth speaking on and about peace as we move critically towards the 2018 election challenging fellow-youths to shun violence in Zimbabwe where youth are viewed as rubble-rousers and violent.
Various social media handles will be used to that end to share these peace messages, strategies, and explore collaborations for better co-ordination to support peace in Zimbabwe so as to unlock the youth potential thereby improving human security prospects.
Together we can provide an amplifier. Keeping our society free from violence and related harm is a task we all must commit to – the cost of indifference is simply too great to consider. And when people come together, great things can happen. Do not be left behind...Make your contribution towards building Peace this IYD 2017 and be part of creating the Future We Want!



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