National Youth Day on 16 June commemorates the desire of our youth for quality education. It signifies their potential to move the world towards peace. Youth is the hope of future. But, they are also very important actors in the development and advancement of our communities today.
According to the Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, “the transformation which is to occur in the functioning of society will certainly depend to a great extent on the effectiveness of the preparations the youth make for the world they will inherit”.
Young people can be empowered to draw on the zeal and enthusiasm which characterize the period of youth, and to make decisive contributions to the advancement of both material and spiritual civilization. They have many wonderful powers, and channelling them properly is important, because when misdirected or manipulated by others, they can cause much social distress.
Education is the most effective way to shape the values, attitudes, behaviours and skills of our children towards creating better communities and a peaceful world. However, it is important that education leads our youth in their moral empowerment as well as to their intellectual development.
Preparing our youth for the future will require new directions in education. It requires nurturing in youth the consciousness of the oneness of humanity and a sense of world citizenship – that can effect changes in the structure of our societies, currently confronted with prejudices that divide us.
It is within the family that nurturing a love for humanity must begin and our youth are trained to rid themselves of various prejudices. Encouraging youth to independently search for truth leads them to personal conviction, rather than merely imitating others, and will help free themselves from prejudices and preconceptions.
In an inter-dependent world, we need to nurture in our youth an appreciation for the richness and importance of the world’s diverse cultural, religious and social systems, as they contribute to social integration, justice and peace.
Through service to others, our youth can grow personally and enhance their capacity to contribute to social progress. Service gives meaning, purpose and stimulus to life and it helps to change one’s life from predominately self- interest to one of sharing and caring for others. “Service to humanity is service to God”, state the Bahá’í Writings.
Fulfilment of our dreams for social integration and for peace will largely depend “on the effectiveness of the preparations the youth make for the world they will inherit”.
