Youth Care
Youth Care (1)
Youth is a tremendous energy, full of strength, enthusiasm, vitality, and drive. Blessed is the nation that uses its youth wisely for what is beneficial. Neglecting youth, however, may lead them to deviance, or allow other forces to exploit them and drive them toward paths with unknown outcomes.
Youth begins in secondary education, or slightly before that, in the late preparatory stage. It naturally includes university education and those of similar age outside academic institutions.
The responsibility for youth lies first upon the family, then the school, college, and university. The state also bears responsibility through youth centers.
Our first question here is: what do schools do in caring for youth?
At first, schools thought their duty was merely to spread knowledge. Hence, the ministry was called the “Ministry of Education (Ma‘arif).” Later, the name evolved into the “Ministry of Education and Upbringing.” Yet we must ask: how do schools fulfill the upbringing part, not merely education?
In the past, there was what was known as the “class teacher,” who would meet with students outside of lessons once or more each week, talk with them, and advise them with a fatherly spirit—as if he were their spiritual guide.
There was also the social supervisor for a group of classes. Does this position still exist? And if so, what are the duties of these social supervisors in every school? How do they carry the responsibility of youth care?
I believe that foreign or so-called language schools take a deeper role in caring for their students.
University education remains a puzzle when it comes to youth care!
Are professors merely lecturers who give academic talks and leave, with no personal connection with students except through fear and awe—knowing their future lies in the hands of those great figures?
Then, what is the role of department heads and deans in each college regarding the guidance and moral upbringing of the youth who respect them as sources of knowledge? Surely these students would also be willing to receive personal and moral direction from them.
And what is the role of university presidents? Have they, within their responsibilities, set up any practical plan for caring for the youth studying at their universities?
If university youth find no moral and spiritual guidance within educational institutions, they will turn to other sources for direction on how to live!
And if they do not seek such sources, many others will seek them, offering guidance and influence as they see fit. At that point, the state will have abandoned its responsibility—and will reap the consequences!
Youth may also live in a vacuum—lacking both moral education and productive use of time. This emptiness can lead them into dangerous paths, confusion, or bad company that corrupts their morals. They might find their pleasure in idleness, mischief, or drugs… and then we will have lost this youth and all their potential!
We now turn to the state’s duty in caring for youth, especially through the media and youth centers.
Do the media provide purposeful programs for youth—programs that are also engaging enough to attract them, so that entertainment alone does not dominate their attention? Are there specialists overseeing youth programs—cultural, social, and developmental—designed to enrich their understanding and participation?
What has television done in this regard? What about satellite channels? Have artists—especially those admired by youth—participated through their films, writings, and moral examples in caring for the youth?
And what about the press?
So much is written in newspapers and magazines about politics, events, economy, and entertainment—but where is what is written for the youth? Where are the noble ideals presented to inspire them? Where are the meaningful, uplifting stories that help shape a successful and virtuous personality?
Does every newspaper or magazine have a section dedicated to youth?
Do we complain about youth when they go astray, while we have failed to do our duty toward them and have not exerted the necessary effort to guide them?
Now, we move to the duty of youth centers in caring for youth.
For a long time, I have called for a ministry specifically dedicated to youth—not one that wastes its energy on football, thinking that this is the essence of youth work. I wrote about this in Majallat al-Shabab (Youth Magazine) when it was edited by the esteemed journalist Mr. Ragab Al-Banna.
Youth care must address every aspect—cultural, social, moral, psychological, economic, and political—while also considering their future. This is where the essential work of youth centers comes in. Youth centers can host conferences, seminars, and lectures, encouraging open discussions where youth can both express and receive ideas.
We should open our hearts to the youth, and let them open theirs to us. We need to know what occupies their minds, what their problems are, and discuss realistic and possible solutions. We must listen to what they propose and what is proposed to them. What ideas are reaching them from different directions, and what good or harm do those ideas carry?
We must educate them positively—for their benefit and for the good of their country.
Youth also need someone to discover their talents and give them opportunities to show them, using these gifts for their own good and the public good.
Youth have great potential; they are pleased when we recognize and nurture it instead of ignoring it—whether in literature, art, science, or invention. We must give them space to discover themselves, the good within them, and how to express it.
They also need activities to engage in. Many young people who joined scout or guiding movements were deeply influenced by the positive experiences they gained.
We must train youth in what benefits them and their country. I remember in the early years of the revolution, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, youth were involved in afforestation, desert reclamation, and land development projects—with great success.
So let us care for our youth and show them our concern—not in words but in action. Let us not overwhelm them with promises that are never fulfilled.
Let us also make them feel that their future is a trust placed in our hands—that we will not leave them as victims of unemployment and its many problems.
Vocational training schools are vital for youth, as they equip them with practical skills for work—whether self-employment or jobs that match their trained abilities.
The subject is vast, with wide fields for thought. We must all contribute—through every institution—to this great responsibility.
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Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper on April 15, 2006.
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