Promoting the Right Societal Values for Building Enduring Youths for Sustainable Development ....

In commemoration of the 2015 International Youth day we at PHN Africa will be focusing on societal values and their impact on our youths with a focus on building enduring leaders for sustainable development.

With the current globalization trends, and as the under developed and developing Nations clamor for sustainable change and development while the developed nations engage in changes and modifications of their own.

Certain key societal values and norms seem to be fading away. 
In my view they seem to be entrapped (instead of displayed upon) within the crevices of the walls of change. 

In today's revolutionary fast paced world, one would wonder what happened to :

Patience:

To build an enduring generation of youths for leadership tomorrow we need to engrave this value in our hearts and minds. This is what makes us able to go the extra mile especially when we are tired and ready to give up.

Hard work: 

Trends today tend to teach or show us short cuts to get the job done faster and with little efforts invested. i.e. The smallest amount of work possible to get the job done. Like we all know hard work is critical in building sustainable solutions to problems. As we learn to work smarter, let's bear in mind that working harder too is not wrong, it in fact builds within us an enduring character for effective leadership.

Kindness:

In today's Industrial revolution, this value is almost currently non existent. As people are taught to edge out, belittle and manipulate others on their way to the top. We have been taught to view our colleagues as the competition and not really the problems we are trying to solve.

My colleague or partner at work is not the competition. We all are working to fulfill similar objectives. 
Let's eliminate negative competition so as to work effectively in a team as team players and with a unifying team spirit.

Honesty:

In the corporate world today, this value seems to have been redefined.

People are taught to talk without actually committing to something. Or talk but doggedly avoid the truth. The legal world does not make this easy on us too. The law seems to punish the guy who speaks the truth and set free the one who can talk his way out of a situation. 

Promotions seem to be easily accessible to the guy who can lie to cover up tracks than the honest dude.

Honesty is important for trust to be regained in leadership.
To build enduring leaders, this value is vital as it will make the difference between the politician and the leader that has the good of the people at the center of his agenda. 
It will also differentiate between the sycophant and the true follower.

Respect:

Respecting myself makes me take myself seriously enough to conduct myself appropriately at all times. 

Respecting others makes me accord them the dignity that each person deserves.
Overall this helps us build a community where everyone is heard and treated right.

Respect for oneself and others is crucial in leadership. It helps to stem the tide of strife and egotism which leads to further discord. 

Fair play:

Engaging in fair play regardless of whether or not someone is watching is key in building true leaders who are not threatened by results or competition but just want to put in their best for the common good of all. This value goes hand in hand with honesty and could be the driving force for transparency in leadership.

As we celebrate the 2015 International Youth's Day, let's bear in mind that life is not just about winning the game but also about playing by the rules. 

Hence as we learn to play this game called 'life'; let us not forget to also learn the rules of the game, without which the game is lost irrespective of the public perception of whom the winner seems to be.