EXTENDING THE YOUTH

On 12 August, the world celebrated the International Day of Youth to draw international attention to their problems. The date was established by the UN General Assembly on 17 December 1999, at the suggestion of the world conference of youth ministers held in Lisbon on 8-12 August 1998. Youth Day was first celebrated on 12 August 2000. The conference recommended that promotional activities be organized to improve youth awareness of the global action plan approved by the UN General Assembly in 1995 pertaining to youth, for the period to 2000 and beyond. The programme says, in particular, that while youth constitute a quarter of the global workforce, they also account for half of the world's jobless. Labour markets are experiencing difficulties in providing stable employment with good prospects for young people, except for highly-qualified specialists. 

There are almost three billion people under 25 in the world today. More than half a billion of them live in poverty, over 100 million children don't go to school. Every day, about 30,000 children die of starvation, 7,000 young people are infected with AIDS every day. Proceeding from these statistics, the UN secretary general has urged the world to recognize the inter-dependence of generations and to deal collectively with the problems facing different ages. 

Old age is no joy, while youth …

Indeed, it must be acknowledged that young people do have many problems. Many of them even question whether it is easy to be young. This is not because to become an adult they need to find ways out of many predicaments and avoid them in the future. It is not enough to finish school and receive a secondary education. It is then necessary to enter university, find a job and start a family, preferably having a house, a car and a good salary by then, which is not the case for everyone. This is what Azerbaijani youngsters, who form 60 per cent of the country's population, are most concerned about. 

Many will ask why the list of wishes and priorities is not so long. The answer is easy to see - many young people often have to deal with financial problems; this explains their low involvement in public, political and humanitarian matters. And if supply generates demand, then, according to Akram Abdullayev, a member of the Milli Maclis committee on social policy, youth don't have much supply. 

At the same time, both attention and the funds allocated to youth issues have increased significantly. "In the 1990s, about 100,000-150,000 manats were allocated for youth issues, while now the figure has reached 4 million. The Ministry of Youth and Sports, the state and the president are paying great attention to youth. The only problem is youth organizations," said the MP. 

According to Abdullayev, there are over 300 youth organizations in Azerbaijan today, of which only 30-40 per cent are active. Others don't do anything significant. "The Ministry of Youth and Sports is channelling significant resources into youth programmes and projects. Some financial assistance is provided by the Council on State Support for NGOs. However, youth organizations are still not conspicuously active. Only 10 years ago, youth organizations built several schools using grants from the Japanese government and the US Embassy," Abdullayev added. 

What are the youth's concerns?

If you chat with Azerbaijani youngsters on numerous Internet forums, you may conclude that they are concerned with more in-depth problems than mundane material ones which, however, do play a role in their reluctance to participate in public affairs. The youth believe it is necessary to improve the quality of education; young specialists' qualifications do not always live up to employers' expectations. 

There are also problems in the area of employment and a major slant in favour of the technical professions, while those majoring in humanities face serious difficulties. It is almost impossible to acquire living space; rural youngsters tend to move to cities. Some young people say that one of the biggest problems is the incompetent interference of parents in their children's futures. As for problems of socialization, young people believe that there are not enough kindergartens. This prevents young families from dedicating themselves to work, as mothers often have to stay home, while the few pre-school institutions do not pay sufficient attention to educating their charges. Besides, not many people can afford the good kindergartens. Azerbaijani youngsters also think it is necessary to support the handicapped more effectively and to pay more attention to the rehabilitation of young prisoners. 

Youth unemployment is recognized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Another problem is that Azerbaijani youth reach the labour market a little too late - by 21-22. Before then they depend largely on their parents. This takes places against the backdrop of the EU's policy to facilitate youth access to job markets at the age of 16-17. 

A source from the ministry says that in order to resolve these problems the state has considerably enhanced its youth support activities, the foundation being laid by Nationwide Leader Heydar Aliyev in 1997. Special attention is paid to the education of young specialists. The implementation of certain educational reforms has bolstered youth interest in science. Further, quite a few Azerbaijani youngsters have received educations abroad. As for their engagement in the country's public and political development, the activity of Azerbaijani youth studying abroad and the implementation of joint projects, are expanding their role and helping to create a positive view of Azerbaijan in the world. The ministry also provides support to Azerbaijani youth organizations active in the CIS and European states.

The ministry considers that Azerbaijani youth are quite active, because they constitute the ministry's main partner in the implementation of state youth policy. Unlike NGOs, youth organizations implement interesting and sustainable projects. 

Caring for the youth 

As far as protection of young families is concerned, this issue is the subject of extensive debate. For example, the autumn session of the Milli Maclis is expected to pass a draft law "On stepping up social protection of young families". According to the head of the committee, Hadi Racabov, the document envisages a set of measures which will elevate support for youth to state level. The chairman of the National Council of Youth Organizations (NCYO), MP Fuad Muradov, believes that housing is top priority for young people. Thus the document is very important and timely.

It is common knowledge that not many young people can afford to buy apartments with a mortgage because the mortgage programme has a number of tight requirements. The acquisition of living space by other means is also unaffordable for most young people. "Why don't we use the experience of some western countries?" Muradov says. For example, in Sweden there is a social housing programme for young families. If members of a family are temporarily unemployed, they can live in a so-called "social apartment" until they find a decent job and then buy the same apartment on beneficial conditions. In addition to the housing issue, it is also necessary to improve the level of general and professional education of young spouses. There should be a system of social protection for young families: benefits, allowances, targeted support programmes etc. Healthcare programmes for young families should be improved: medical aid made accessible to all through a combination of free and paid forms of medical service. Those planning to get married should undergo medical examination to identify and prevent diseases that may affect future generations. 

In general, Muradov considers Azerbaijani youth to be quite active. He said that our youngsters worked with European organizations even when Azerbaijan was not a member of the Council of Europe. Today, the objective of the organization he leads is to create suitable conditions for Azerbaijani youth to join different organizations. It was through the NCYO that young people have been engaged in joint projects, e.g. organising the world championship in the well-known "What? Where? When?" intellectual game in Azerbaijan. As for social projects, they have been implemented jointly with the UN, creating the conditions for young people to express themselves in the political, humanitarian and social spheres.

At the same time, Muradov stressed that Azerbaijani youth have many problems. The most important of them is that, unfortunately, Azerbaijan does not have control over territories occupied as a result of aggression. Another problem is that Azerbaijan is still a young democracy. Muradov believes that it is necessary to improve the quality of education. It must also be acknowledged that the current youth have many more opportunities to study abroad than before. Everyone has the opportunity to enter a prestigious university and receive training and distance learning. In his view, the state must do everything it can to facilitate young people's access to alternative ways of education, even though the country's own education system is developing successfully. "There is a programme approved by the President of Azerbaijan. Under this programme, the state will support young people interested in studying at 100 of the world's most prestigious universities. Some people have already expressed interest. It means that when the state pays for the education of a student, the student will have a responsibility. Therefore, Azerbaijan will no longer be short of qualified professionals." The MP thinks Azerbaijan should also adopt programmes to encourage young people, including those in the countryside, to contribute to public processes. Although we have quite developed districts with good infrastructures, there is still a big difference between urban and rural youngsters. Modern Azerbaijani youngsters aspire to learn foreign languages, IT and alternative thinking, the MP said.