Include youth in writing their future

Madam,

,t is critical to remember the old $frican adage that until the lion learns to write, every story will tell the tale of the hunter. :hen we think of the stories we hear, the ones that shape our consciousness, it is frightening and deeply saddening for some of us to realise we have only heard the tale of the hunter ± and that we have shaped our entire reality around that.

:e need to tell the tale of the hunt from the lion¶s perspective, to ensure that every story we hear gives us the li on¶s view, as well as the hunter¶s ± and that of the buck too that would have been the lion¶s prey had the hunter not intervened. ,t is only in knowing the fullest possible story that we can begin to understand the conte[t in which we live, identify the problems and then begin to address them.

,t is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to listen to the youth and give them a platform to tell their stories in their own right. :e need to establish what it is that they hope for, what they fear and, critically, what they need to unlock the latent potential in their own lives. This is a vitally im portant demographic, after all they are the ne[t cohort of (swatini¶s leaders and they are determined to make their own way.

They do not have much faith in pol iticians. ,n fact, the country¶s youth has the lowest trust in politicians than their peers. ,nstead, they are putting their faith in local leaders and in organisations to bring about change. :e must not fear bringing their stories into the light and showcasing them to the world to ensure that they will never again be relegated to the dark annals of history.

2ur country is rich in history, but it is a history very much of voices being suppressed, only to find ways to break free with seismic consequences.

:e need to listen to the youth, we need them to be included in writing their own futures, otherwise we run the risk of them rendering us irrele vant when they finally learn to write their own stories stories in which the hunter is finally and fully vanquished by the lion.

Independent