Meet Lena:
My name is Folabit Lena Novel and I'm vice-president of All-African Student Unions (AASU) for the Central African region. Over the past four years, I have worked with my organization to promote students' rights, in particular by ensuring that students across the continent have access to quality education, equal and fair access to higher education, and so on. I think young people should be motivated to develop an entrepreneurial spirit to fight unemployment in Africa, and in my country Cameroon in particular. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Education Sciences from the University of Buea (Cameroon), a Master's degree in University Governance and Development of Local Institutions from the University of Yaoundé II-Soa (Cameroon), and am currently a doctoral student in Higher Education at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa). I represent AASU on the Global Student Forum (GSF) as a member of the Management Committee. At GSF, I work on Education for All and Membership.
What causes are important to you, and to young people today? Why or why not?
Access to leadership, quality education and employment for young people. And I believe in the interdependence of these three aspects: failure in one leads to failure in the other two.
First of all, we live in a society where leaders cling to their positions and prefer to protect their leadership rather than build a fertile education system for the country, even though education is the backbone of national development.
Secondly, if young people are unable to access quality education due to a lack of infrastructure, the inability of the education system to teach them the skills needed for the job market, and a mismatch of priorities (in short, when educational programs don't meet societal demand), this will lead to the third point: youth unemployment. These young people make up the lion's share of the population, especially in Africa, where the concentration of young people is greatest. It is widely accepted that unemployment in our country is one of the root causes of all our social problems (juvenile delinquency, theft, drug addiction, etc.).
How can we make civic engagement accessible to all young people, including those who face more than one obstacle (language barriers, lack of networks, limited resources, difficulties accessing technological tools, etc.)?
It's very important to realize that young people are major players in every nation. As such, they should be involved in dialogue about their welfare and social protection. Unfortunately, young people have no authentic voice or representation in the global discourses that concern them. It is imperative to create an inclusive society to ensure equal opportunities for all, whatever their background, so that everyone can realize their full potential in society. Young people should be allowed to participate in the nation-building process, enabling them to take their rightful place, make their voices heard and implement their rights and duties as citizens. In addition, young people can identify regions that need special attention and collective reconstruction efforts as a matter of priority.
What advice would you give to young people who want to get involved? Where should they start?
I believe that young people have already seized the bull by the horns by creating various national platforms that help them develop the skills that will enable them to contribute to the advent of a prosperous society. They must now believe in their ability to build a society of enlightened young citizens who can get involved and change things.
What would you like to say to political decision-makers?
First and foremost, I'd like to make it clear that managers know what young people want and need from them. At the risk of repeating myself: young people absolutely want to be involved in dialogues and decisions, and are really only waiting for the opportunity to express themselves.
(Photo courtesy: Folabit Lena Novel, copyright: Folabit Lena Novel)
