Youth Development in Bangladesh

Youth development and establishing digital Bangladesh is the election commitment of the government. And of course the government is very keen to fulfill the commitments given to the people. As a matter of fact, government already is moving forward to fulfill their commitments.

Digital Bangladesh is a dream of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which is a process where IT is used for management, administration and governance to ensure transparency, accountability and answerability at all levels of society and state. On the other hand youth development is a phenomenon related to human development, social development and economic development. To buildup a digital Bangladesh it is a must to develop the youths that cover a vast portion of population.

Here it should be mentioned that youths are the sprit of change in the society. It is very true for Bangladesh. In 1971, while Bangladesh achieved independence under the leadership of our great leader, father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Muzibur Rahman , youths were the main force of war and movement. In the movement for democracy students, that is the youths were the pioneer, in the election of 2008, young voters were in the decisive role.

As of commonwealth, the persons aged from 15 to 29 are termed as young. The age group is full of energy, ability to work hard, intending to contribute to the society and nation. In terms of human development, this age group, the youths, need to grown up under a secured environment where the mind is without fear. In terms of social development the issues like family, home, education and friendship is very essential. In terms of economic development employment is the focal point for the youths.

For youth development in Bangladesh it is essential to ensure an environment where conflicts are not more visible than peace. In peaceful environment, young people grownup with an open mind that makes them to learn for their future and prepares them to gather skill, knowledge and information for professional life. Family support and a good home make the youths kind and generous; education is the fundamental rights for each citizen. All those are need for the competency of economic activities. In Bangladesh there are two types of youth development efforts mainly; one is spontaneous taken by society and another is purposeful taken by the state. The youth development tool of the state is the ministry of youth and sports. Department of Youth Development is working as effective instrument of the ministry. Now a look could be given to the state instrument that working for the youths.

The Department of Youth Development provides services to the youth and interested beneficiaries in different forms. The beneficiaries who are interested to avail of the services or/and opportunities are always welcomed to contact with the concern offices and centers.

The Department of Youth Development imparts skill development training for female and male youth people on different trades to make them skilled for their gainful employment or self-employment. The Department also encourages and extends support to Youth and Youth Organization in the form of counseling, guidance and financial assistance to make their participation in national development process for acceleration of the pace of national development. Youth are the future hope of our nation. According to National Youth Policy, the age group between 18-35 years are called 'Youth' in Bangladesh. They are the most energetic and productive segment of the total population in Bangladesh. Therefore, the national development mostly depends on their working spirit and initiatives. Keeping in this view, the department of development under the ministry of youth and sports has been given the responsibility of transferring the disorganized and unproductive youth into an organized, disciplined and productive workforce.

It has been observed that Bangladesh has the organs to develop the youths in state mechanism and in the society itself. Just the nation needs to be oriented with the concept of digital Bangladesh. Proper training in IT and appropriate technology could make the educated youths a partner of building digital Bangladesh initiative. One thing should be keep in mind when policy makers go for planning that a substantial number of youths are living in rural Bangladesh and the are linked with the agriculture for their livelihood. Digitizing agriculture could be the way of rural youth development. Hope every one will contribute to develop the youth force in view of the concept of digital Bangladesh.

Mohoshin Abbas