Defining Youth
Welcome to day one! We will discuss the definition of youth and look at their dynamism. To start with I invite you to define youth in your own word and briefly write on their dynamism. Comment by replying to this.
A youth is defined as a young person who is transiting from childhood to adulthood.The term youth does not specify the age at which someone can be called as a youth.It is difficult to put age to the defination of the youth because there transition to adult and they vary at the extent they reach adult,form country to country due to diffrent social economic factors.
Mr,Tandeo you will also note that youth are a driving force in both economic and social transformation of their communities,this is so because of there energy and desire to explore within there environment.(they are veryu experimental0
The youth are currently being the major economic changers of the world,,for example they are the ones that are today been in the frontline of great technological innovations(the touch phones) and these technological innovations are targeted at the youth because of there energies and hunger for latest innovations.
Hi there! Good points. You have brought in our discussion the aspect of transion.could share withg the class some of the transion markers from youth to adult?
A youth by my understanding is a young person who is in between childhood and adulthood. It is also a period of life where most persons become very innovative, assertive, very emotional towards "radical" change of life. During this period, this category of persons sometimes if not guided may be very confused about their actual positions in life (confusion of been adults or infants) since they may be addressed as adults or infants based on the situation. It is a time where persons also try to experiment, and also exhibit a lot of energy. Personally, I may not ascribe to any age margin for the youth but according to the National Youth Policy of Ghana, “youth” is defined as “persons who are within the age bracket of fifteen (15) and thirty-five (35)”. Ghana’s definition has been informed by those used by the United Nations Organisation and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Ghana's definition undoubtedly, runs in consonance with definitions in other countries such as Tanzania and Namibia. Well, I think there is more to defining "youth" not only by age but through other variables such as ability. A person may fall outside the suggested range of ages but could perform like or more than a youth.
Again in Ghana, as a way of looking at the dynamism of youth, the 2000 Ghana Housing and Population Census,states clearly that the population of Ghana was 18.9 million with an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent where the youth in Ghana constitute about 33% as a heterogeneous segment of Ghana’s population. From the literature given as a guide, heterogeneity may call for variations ranging from some youth coming from well to do families while others do not; some in school, others not;etc. But the fact still remains that the youth can be dynamically homogenous. Today, they may be homogenous through the bridge of digital divide. Most of the youth informally have accepted technology available as a lingua franca for the youth.
Hi Andrew, Thank you for the question I am really loving the discussion and posts from other members. "Smile." Youth is the quality or condition of being young. It is the period between childhood and maturity which is characterized by high energy levels, innovation, and a deep desire to effect change. At this stage, most youth would not have had a lot of commitments that elderly people have, such as taking care of a large family, sorting out bills, debt e.t.c. This gives them the leeway to experiment with life (Both in a positive and negative sense).
Youths have the power to change the world through their actions, choices, and aspirations. I will however be quick to say that the same power can destroy them and society if not properly harnessed and nurtured! Ours is to help them be productive members of soceity. Be-The-Best
Hi class! I hope that you are enjoying the discussions. I can see that youth can be defined differently, others by age while others by their character. However, let us take time to discuss why youth is defined by age. You are required to give three reasons, then we can move on and look at dynamism of youth in summary.
Hello everyone, My first name is Sibongile
I think youth is defined by age because age brings: 1. changes in behavior and thought towards maturity 2. experience 3. biological changes towards maturity --Smauye 09:01, 15 February 2011 (UTC)
Why youth is defined by age:
- Age is a measurement of one's availability or level of a stature in life for instance a baby can be from 0yreas to 5years (in health centres such children must have an under 5 card) am sure mothers here will agree with me. So as the youth is defined as a human being that have atained 15years to 35years of age.
- I think that the other reason isa young person would start to develop certain behaviors in life such as sorry to use the term for lack of better words,)(puberty) the period of life during which the young person mature
- becourse this is a time when a person moves from a time of dependance to indipendence for urguements seck
Possibly the youth are defined by age due to the following factors: To get minimum reference groups to address the specific youth issues,Country specific life expectancy status,most productive age , to get minimum Labour market reference ,voting right as per the country legislative and education status (both formal and non-formal)
Youth can be defined by age due to the following:
- Age as a determinant for defining youth is to serve as a standard measurement for uniformity for a country or a group's operations.
- People of this group (transitional-youth) exhibit similar characteristics in terms of physiological, psychological and performance that can be directly linked to their ages or what others in their age group can do.
- The youth are mostly young people about to go through (experience) what adults have gone through, such as work, raising a family, skills, values and mindset.
Youth is defined by age to:
1. Set a period (in years) when youth can be supported
by policy makers and various stakeholders.
2. Identify common behaviours among them
3. Provide suitable programmes that are of interest to
particular age groups.
Greetings Andrew, Greetings fellow participants, Please let me know if am in the right forum, My name are Rodgers Mulenga working with Chawama Youth Project based in Zambia Why youth is defined by age:
- Age is a measurement of one's availability or level of a stature in life for instance a baby can be from 0yreas to 5years (in health centres such children must have an under 5 card) am sure mothers here will agree with me. So as the youth is defined as a human being that have atained 15years to 35years of age.
- I think that the other reason isa young person would start to develop certain behaviors in life such as sorry to use the term for lack of better words,)(puberty) the period of life during which the young person mature
- becourse this is a time when a person moves from a time of dependance to indipendence for urguements seck
Hi Rogers! You are welcome to the training and indeed you are in the right forum. You are encouraged to make contributions to the discusions!
Hi Rogers! You are welcome to the training and indeed you are in the right forum. You are encouraged to make contributions to the discusions!
Wilson J Mbongwe
Once more am please to be one of the IPYET 2011 participante. My work at the Department of Youth <Botswana>includes coordination of the Youth Development Fund. The fund is aimed at youth entrepreneurship development.
The Botswana National Youth council of 2011 define youth a young person between the age of 15 to 35years of age. in my view, a youth should defined as a stage of transition from childhood to adulthood guided by the norms and value of a particular community or as derected by the statutes of a country, otherwise it would diffucult to make a distention. Youth like anyother person differ in may respect be attitude, behaviour etc and as such need to be guided during the transition stage at least to comform to the societal expectations.
Hi Wilson! You are welcome to our training and I encourage you to actively contribute.
Hi Wilson! You are welcome to our training and I encourage you to actively contribute.
--GabKon 18:10, 15 February 2011 (UTC) Hello class. My name is Gabriel Konayuma from Zambia. My job involves promoting entrepreneurship development to youths, women and people in the informal economy. I develop policies for youths in Technical and Vocational Education and Training. My definition of a youth is someone in transition from childhood to adulthood. In childhood, these youths were provided for by adults in terms of shelter, safety, education and clothing. Adults provide or at least are expected to provide for themselves shelter, employment, food and education. Youths are those that are being weaned from dependence to independence and therefore need appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes to make a successful transition to adulthood.
Hi Gabriel! You are welcome to our training and I encourage you to actively contribute.
Hi class! I am sure you have observed from our discusion that there is no universally agreed definition of youth. 1. Across counttries, a youth is defined by age, 2. Definition of youth differs from place to place, 3. Different organisations define youth differently.
The possible reasons why age is used to define youth: 1. Statistical use, 2. For planning purposes, 3. Delivering youth specific developmental programs.
Apart from age, youth can be defined by functional ( ability) and socially Constructed ideas ( status and behaviour.
Dynamism of young people:
1. Young people are not necessarily homogeneous (same)
But heterogeneous ( different).
2. Certain skills are necessary to manage young people's
Heterogeneous nature-empathy, Communication and conflict management.
Let us now shift our focus to rights now.
The dynamism of youth is that they are full of hope for the future and want to achieve a lot for themselves and others. At this point they require good mentors who can shape them into realising their full potential. They require a community of elders who are passionate about their dreams and are willing to lend a helping hand to them...
The youth can be defined by age, status, and ability. There is no universal definition of youth, as definitions defer from country to country and from organization to organization. The youth can be defined as young people between the ages of 15-35years, or people who are capable of carrying out duties and responsibilities of adulthood.Generally speaking, the youth can be defined as that phase of human development between childhood and adulthood.It is a transition period.
Dynamisim of the youth is that they are energetic, active, adpatable to change and very creative.
A youth is an individual who is at the age of transition from teenage years to adulthood, or transition from a state of being dependent on others to independence. It’s an age characterized by high levels of energy, resourcefulness and innovation.
Hi everyone
Samuel From Zambia
The Zambian Youth Policy defines a Youth as one who is From 15yeras of age to 35 years of age,in my personal view i define a youth as one who is in transition from the state of childhood to that of adulthood and is guided by principles,traditions of the environment in which that Youth is growing in.
An individual who is able to think out of the box through the application of energy and skills within the framework of the environment to me is a youth.
Hi fellow colleaque in the programme,
Just got the mail from a fellow colleaque. I have not seen any work for this week on my mail. However, Youth is a person who is at transitional state between a childhood stage (teenage) and adulthood of responsibility. It is also seen as state of been energertic with ideas etc. Youth is categories based on age. In Nigeria National Youth Policy is between age 18- 35.The age categorization is to help in planning and statistic.However, Age is the standard of categorism youth in the policy.
The concept youth simply means that person that have attain the legal age thus: 18 and above, the age boundary in this, is based on the frame of social identity.
Youth is a period of transition from childhood and dependency to adulthood and independence.
Of course rightly from the discussion paper, there is no universally agreed age definition for youth but one key feature is that at this age, the person experiences challenges of transition eg the person was in school and is now looking for a job; the person was under parental care and finds him/herself as the parent.
Youths are dynamic in the following ways:
1. They are in a transition period and are open to learning and new discoveries
2. Youths have energy to better their lives and this stage is marked by a lot of effort to develop oneself
Because of the transtional nature of the stage, youth are dynamic; they are much more open-minded than adults and are more receptive to change
We should not look confuse youth legal frameworks. Neither do we have to assume that the think better than adults. There has been situations where the so called youth have done things by the heart not the head or hand - leading to chaos and confusion, so also has the so called adults committed such mistakes. So we need to be cautions in drawing such conclusions.
Youth is a stage in life when individuals experience growth biologically, socially and emotionally. Youths are more open to change, they have energy and enthusiasm, depending of course on their-circumstances.--Smauye 12:48, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
Code of ethics on the other hand defines the acceptable behavior for youth professionals, which considers professional and knowledgeable partners who should work in partnership with other professionals while providing access to information in an equitable manner. Youth professionals need to be guided by values of responsibility, respect, fairness, non discrimination, honesty and adhere to boundaries when dealing with young people.--Smauye 12:59, 14 April 2011 (UTC)
I would define youth as being the stage when an individual is between the ages of 16 to 35years old. In terms of dynamism, it is during ones youth that one is most energetic and creative
Youth is a stage of mind rather than age. It is having the energy and mind set to do greater and newer things. So that the ideology about who a youth is not based on age but by deeds and mindset.
It is difficult to accept the fact that being energetic or not is associated with the youth. Those we describe as matured may also be energetic.
In terms of dynamism, today's man is explorative due to the advent of technology. Of course those up and coming people would to experiment and take certain risk than some elderly people. The simple explanation is that the elderly have been there. Dynamism is a quality of the today's man.
My view of ethics is simply "using your towel to clean your hands, other than of your room mate's using the washroom in the absence of your room mate."
