Youths comprise the majority of the country's total population and the maximum utilisation of this section will have to be ensured to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDG).
All stakeholders, including public and private, will have to work together to make the young people skilled and create scope for their employment.
Speakers came up with these remarks while addressing an event titled 'SDG Campaign-2022: Need for strong representation of youth and women' on Monday at the auditorium of Krishibid institution in Dhaka -- an event that was sponsored by UNDP, UNEP Poverty and Environment Action while organised by Prothom Alo and Prothom Alo Bondhushava.
In the event, more than 400 youths took part from 64 districts.
The state minister for planning Shamsul Alam said, "The average age of the working population of the country is 38. We will have to take advantage of the demographic dividend, which will start declining from 2036. Along with creating human resources, the government has put emphasis on youth employment in their sixth five-year plan."
The state minister claimed the country performed well in implementing millennium development goals (MDG), adding that the young generation is a potential force in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"It is a social movement. The image of Bangladesh will be brightened before the world if the SDG can be implemented," Shamsul Alam added.
UN resident coordinator Gwyn Lewis said Bangladesh lags behind in employment. The country lacks decent employment. The power of the young people will have to be utilised as skillful manpower.
The UNDP is working with the public and private stakeholders to include the youths in the development process. Sustainable development is possible only through ensuring the inclusion of people from all social strata, he added.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangladesh’s deputy resident representative Van Nguyen said that there is no substitute of collective work for the holistic development of the country. She said, youth are the majority in Bangladesh. But a large section of the country’s youth, especially young women, is not a part of the workforce.
Youth leadership and youth participation in the decision making process needs to be increased, she added.
A member of the SAFF champion Bangladesh women’s football team Sajeda Khatun was present at the event. She said, earlier, people of rural communities would say disparaging things to girls who played football. Now, the scenario has changed. She further said that the girls need to be given opportunities.
Chief technical advisor of UNDP Bangladesh Fakhrul Ahsan said, fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) would become extremely difficult for the country if women are not included in the development process.
He said, women and backward communities have been given extra emphasis in the SDG campaign. He also said, thinking that the country’s economic progress automatically means that the backward communities are doing well, would be a mistake.
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman said, in the past few years, the country has progressed quite a lot in sectors like agriculture, education, industry and commerce. But issues like environment pollution, discrimination, unemployment still persist. There is a lack of good governance, corruption persists and there is also a crisis in politics. Gradually, things need to change in these sectors. And for that, the youth have to play the leading role.
Adding that Prothom Alo wants to see Bangladesh win in all sectors, Matiur Rahman said, Prothom Alo wants to tell stories of successes. An individual, a group, an organisation or the government- whoever achieves the success, Prothom Alo wants to showcase their story. He also said that Prothom Alo will further extend its participation in activities like the campaign to fulfil the SDG.
Bondhushava national committee’s president Uttam Roy listed out Bondhushava’s activities regarding SDG. The event was moderated by UNDP SC4SDG project associate Farhana Razzaque and Bondhushava national committee’s general secretary Zafar Sadik.
Earlier, three divisional programmes were held as part of the ‘SDG Campaign-2022: The need for strong representation of youth and women’ campaign. They were held at the Rajshahi University TSC auditorium on 19 November, at the Sylhet district Shilpakala academy on 26 November and at the Chattogram district Shilpakala academy on 29 November.
The events were covered on ABC radio and on the social media platforms of Prothom Alo Bondhushava. The divisional events included a rally on SDG, a debate on SDG, a drawing competition for children, open discussion for the youth and discussions of noted personalities.
In all of the events, a person from the backward community, a representative of the third gender community, a youth representative of the ethnic minority, a specially-abled person and almost 1200 young women and men from remote areas were present.
At the event in Rajshahi, 305 representatives from 15 Bandhushavas; in Sylhet, 310 members from 10 Bondhushavas and at the Chattogram event 309 members from 20 Bondhushavas participated.
At each of those events, 70 children participated in the drawing competition. Under the supervision of Bondhushava national committee, Rajshahi University Bondhushava, Sylhet Bondhushava and Chattogram Bondhushava ran these campaigns.