I remember the first time I heard of the term, ‘International Youth Day’. I was on the Youth Ambassadors programme in the year 2016 and while we were staying in Vermont.

Our mentor asked for us to make a short gift to wish Guyana’s youth a ‘Happy International Youth Day’. I was a Youth Ambassador but I’m also forthcoming enough to admit that I was a bit naive. I did not realise how important and how impactful it was until I grew mindful of the fact that people like me (youth) are true gems and change agents of our world.

While August 12 may have seemed like a normal day to many, it was actually observed as International Youth Day. As a youth columnist and activist, I find it quite fitting to write on this day and its meaning given its recent observation. Many people might confuse International Youth Day with World Youth Day, while both are of much importance— they are not the same. World Youth Day was developed by the Catholic Church and is celebrated on Palm Sundays. It is celebrated to invite youth to celebrate their faith and accept Jesus’ love while International Youth Day was developed by the United Nations to bring awareness to the many social ills our young people face around the world.

This year, the observance centred around the theme; “transforming education”. This theme sought to enlighten the world on the thousands of initiatives done globally to transform, reform and even abolish educational systems to suit the youths of today. As many of you may know, the Sustainable Developmental Goals are set by the United Nations to ensure many of the world’s ills are reduced and even become extinct by the year 2030. This year’s theme for International Youth Day was also tied to the SDGs as it sought to highlight all youth-related activities, organisations and even private and governmental projects worldwide.

In present day, the world has more young people than it has ever seen before. In Guyana, the efforts of both the Government and organisations such as Youth Action Network, Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club, Come Alive Network, Youth for Human Rights, St. Francis Community Developers and many others play an integral role in youth development.

I cannot stress enough the importance education has on the future successes of our country. From the primary schools, all the way up to tertiary education, the quality of education our young people receive influences their ability to succeed and automatically make our country better in all stages of life. While the quality is important, it makes no sense we have quality education and our youngsters do not have the ability or resources to access it. Luckily, initiatives such as the ‘Five Bs’ project, free stationery to the less fortunate from your local youth groups and even local/international scholarships to students helps to bridge the gap between wanting to receive education and actually receiving it.

If there is one thing my mother taught me, it was that nobody can ever take away my education. By giving young people a platform to learn, comprehend and automatically better themselves—you in return better our society. The theme focuses on ‘transforming education’ and surely our country needs to take heed to the world around us. Guyana needs to keep up with the times and mend gaps between our educational systems. If we don’t, our youngsters will ‘slip’ between those very gaps and we as a country will fail them. Our classrooms should be more advanced with technology (tablets, computers, projectors, speakers); it should be learner-friendly and clean at all times and students should always be able to voice their opinions and ideas. A classroom should be more than just four walls and a few benches, teachers need to be equipped with the necessary items to make learning easier. Most importantly, ALL schools in Guyana should have a guidance counsellor and/or academic advisor to help guide students along their way. There have been many times where I felt like I was about to have a break-down due to studying and stress in high school, not to mention my exam anxieties. Perhaps, my high school experience would have been better if I had a professional counsellor/advisor to seek help from.

“Education is not a tool for development- individual, community and the nation. It is the foundation for our future. It is the empowerment to make choices and emboldens the youth to chase their dreams” is an anonymous quote I found while researching for this topic and I couldn’t agree more. Guyana’s future is in the hands of our youths and education can make that future even brighter!