WISDOM can come from the strangest places, even a stray line in a television show.
The famous quote “It’s not how much power you have, but what you do with it,” is often heard in contexts totally unrelated to youth political action and it just seemed the perfect quote. Most of us are probably familiar with national statistics that put the vast majority of Guyanese voters under the age of 35, but it seems that numerical fact only surges to the fore of the national dialogue when there are elections.

The power that comes from numbers, however, can be exercised in so many more ways, to the benefit of the broader society. In Guyana, we don’t often see young people on street corners advocating for the issues they care most about, and certainly not protesting very often in public spaces. Washington D.C. is very much the opposite, as the American capital always seems to be swarming with enthusiastic young activists.

During the summer, especially, interns at various non-profit or advocacy groups swell the young population, and as they are likely to care about social issues, this feeds into a healthy culture of activism. Some are even required by their jobs to spend time helping in such public spaces, increasing the visibility of the non-profit organisations they represent. Add to that the vast number of young administrative staff assisting representatives on Capitol Hill and this makes for an excellent youth activism culture.

The requisite internship culture isn’t present locally, because young people generally need to be paid and, Guyanese haven’t yet organised a robust approach to awarding activism when university admission or job applications are reviewed. As a result, the rewards that come from standing on that street corner handing out fliers are considerably dimmed.

But activism to promote ideas and policies in the public and political spheres is rewarding in a somewhat different way here. There is a real chance that the good ideas young people put forward, if they become popular, can turn into policy. This is because Guyana is so small it is in its own way a more democratic society, where the voices of a few can influence national discourse.

So contrary to the sedative that young people should feel disenchanted with politics, they need to recognise they stand to gain much from getting involved. Some may worry about a backlash, but it is critical to differentiate between advocacy and direct political action.

There’s no need to sign up with a party or even espouse support for one if your cause is just and your message is based on an honest appraisal of an issue, irrespective of its political history. The simple act of convincing someone on the street of a solution is something we have not really grasped, and as a result, we don’t make use of the most potent of grassroots tools -the petition.

Young people should keep things simple, and just get people to sign onto their ideas. Let politics be politics. Instead, our society could use young people coming up with and advocating for fresh ideas. With petitions adding weight to those ideas, who knows how far they can go.

Advocacy isn’t about seizing power, it’s about influencing the world around you for better. Young people in Guyana can have all the power of numbers, but if they never find other positive ways to exercise it, elections really will end up being the only time they have a voice.