The role of youth in community development
Youth and Society
Youth have a major and important role in developing and building societies. Societies that contain a large percentage of young people are strong societies, because the enormous energy of young people is what drives and elevates them. Therefore, young people are the pillars of any nation, and the basis of development and progress in it. They are also the builders of its glory, civilization and protectors.
The concept of youth
The definition of youth differs from the linguistic and international usage perspectives as follows:
The language defines the word youth as youth and modernity, which is the opposite of gray hair and old age.
Youth in the international definition are individuals whose ages are between fourteen and twenty-four years.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the percentage of youth in the world is approximately 18% of its total population; as there are approximately 1.2 billion people in the world who fall within the youth category, and their number is expected to increase by 72 million in the coming days and until the year 2025 AD. Statistics also indicate that the number of youth in the current generation exceeds any number that has ever occurred throughout history. Despite these statistics and the large number of youth and the continuous increase in it, their percentage continues to decrease with the increase in the percentage of the elderly around the world. The role of youth in community development
Youth are the backbone of any nation and the secret of its renaissance. They are the builders of its civilization, its first and last line of defense, and they participate in important planning processes. Examples of youth roles include:
Participation in the election process; where youth votes are crucial and constitute a large and integral part of the overall votes.
Participation in public opinion issues and advocacy such as women's and children's rights issues, and advocacy for marginalized groups in obtaining their rights.
Volunteering in local community institutions; as this contributes to adding the number of workers and increasing production and benefit.
Practicing cooperative activities; such as producing a documentary film that deals with a specific topic, produced by a group of young people, each with a specific specialization. Helping to establish service projects, such as pressuring large companies to establish important infrastructure projects for the life of society.
Planning to hold scientific conferences, workshops and discussions that will expand knowledge and stimulate the mind to receive new intellectual productions.
Planning for the local environment and how to preserve it; such as carefully drawing public parks, entertainment, sports and educational places.
Contributing to collecting funds and donations for charitable institutions in need, which suffer from limited capabilities that threaten to stop their activities.
Enhancing the social aspect by exchanging visits; such as visiting neighbors and the sick, and exchanging joys and sorrows. Enhancing the cultural aspect by promoting initiatives to introduce diverse cultures, exchange them, and send youth to other countries.
Preserving the identity of the homeland and highlighting its history, by recalling past heroics and representing them in the present.
Contributing and working to defend and protect the homeland; where youth are the first to offer themselves as a sacrifice for the homeland, and redeem it with everything precious and valuable.
Spreading health awareness through activities and events that provide information about serious and seasonal diseases, their causes, and how to protect and prevent them, with guidance and advice.
Youth play an important role in politics and the political process; as they choose the system of government, the president, and every official in any region.
Strengthening the economy through marketing exhibitions; as displaying national products leads to the local public knowing them, which increases demand for them, which may contribute to achieving self-sufficiency for the state.
The concept of community development
The United Nations defined community development as the processes and practices in which people cooperate and combine their efforts with those of governments to develop and improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of the local community, and to strive to integrate communities into the reality of the nation and make them capable of participating in the national progress process.
The relationship between youth and development
Development seeks to enhance human capabilities, ideas and orientations, and to advance their capabilities and preserve their interests and freedoms; as the human being is its goal, and it also cares about the moral aspects of the human being to enable him to be a good individual capable of achieving his needs and the needs of his community, and the human being is the means and tool through which development achieves its goals and ambitions through his positive interaction, knowledge, and awareness of the nation's obstacles and problems.
Characteristics of the New Arab Generation Youth
Arab youth in Arab societies have common characteristics and features that distinguish them, including:
Always looking forward to freedom and democracy.
Risk, courage and boldness.
Enthusiasm for innovation and challenge.
Achievement, ability and high speed in mobilizing the masses.
Society's requirements for youth
The requirements imposed by society on youth vary from one society to another, and from one environment to another, but there are some points that all societies share in demanding from youth, to ultimately reach real and effective societal development and growth, and these points are:
Moderation and balance, and not being fanatical or extremist in the various issues facing society.
Developing the values of effective and positive competition, and reducing dependence and reliance on external circumstances to obtain opportunities and achieve success, and relying on oneself in this.
Striving to enhance national and national identity, to make it an identity that raises the status of youth and increases their respect.
Social Roles
A social role can be defined as a set of standards and foundations that specialize in the behavior and actions of a person who has a specific role in the group, such as the role of a doctor and a leader, and the role of a mother and father; as it is necessary to match the individual's role to his behavior and actions.
An individual may be associated with two roles at the same time within what is known as the multiple social roles of the individual according to the group surrounding him, and the society of which he is a member, such as if the mother is a teacher, for example, she has the role of a mother and the role of a teacher as well, and it is worth noting that the individual must try to balance between the various roles that he performs, and integrate between them; as his roles may be optional without compulsion, such as if the individual is married or single, for example, or compulsory roles imposed on him, such as if he is male or female.
The individual acquires how to perform roles from a young age, through upbringing and social education, or through learning, or from his role models and ideals, or from the environment surrounding him; as this learning process is an essential process for society, ensuring its continuity.
