To draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth, in celebrating this particular day of August 12th, we are pleased to share with you here a short essay written by one of our young and talented volunteers, Vanesa Guri.
Internationally, the concept of being young means that you have everything in your hands; it means you are unstoppable; innocent and brave enough to find the motivation within, to live life passionately.
Being young is the nature gift to humanity that brings innovation to the society, in order to motivate leaders to visualize the radiant energy that new generations can bring.
But this is not a common ground for every young person throughout our tiny but enormous world. There are some similar issues that they face equally like depression, identity disorder, bullying, cyberbully, anxiety, body dysmorphia, low self-esteem and problems interacting and creating relationships with others.
Some may have to deal everyday with life threatening issues like war, illness and irreversible consequences like death. Statistics show that 1 out of 10 of the youngsters live in conflicted areas and 24 million of them have already left school.
In Tirana teenagers are enthusiastic, and eager to work harder for a better future. Of course, if they are lucky enough to have the right opportunities.
But there are youngsters that live in peripheric areas of Albania where being young can be challenging. They lack opportunities, and because of the narrow-minded mentality even the quality of life is lower and that’s an image that speaks out loud regarding youth issues. In a world which is facing terrorism, radicalization, violence in its worst ways ever the 12th of August it’s a date not only to be celebrated, but to raise awareness on these issues.
The Youth is the future of this world. If they believe that they are the leaders of themselves, they can help each other to evolve in their best version and bring systematic development, to give hope to the those who feel lost and hopeless.
Step by step each one of us can make an effort for a better life and this means reflecting on our actions, having a clear vision of what we want and where we are going, and how our individual persona is affecting the future of our nation and of our human race.
We are all in this together, and organizations such as the Ivanaj Foundation Institute, are a great help in providing guidance and opportunities in our efforts.
Author: Vanesa Guri
