Youth for Innovation Trust, acting as the Bulawayo Hub for the Action Aid Global Platform Zimbabwe has put together a working group whose aim is to assist in the reforming of the Bulawayo Youth Policy. This comes after the realization that though youth make up the majority of Bulawayo’s population, the city’s development initiatives are still not youth friendly. As a result of this there has been an increase in urban poverty, homelessness, depression and suicides, and drug and substance abuse. Considering the country’s economic crises that has led to widespread unemployment, the majority of youth in the city have resorted to informal trading, betting, and involuntary sex-work for income. In a city that once was the industrial, arts and cultural hub of the country, there is currently very little investment towards reviving industries that will benefit youth. In addition, other city bylaws and policies including the Urban Agriculture Policy, have not been revised in a long time so that they can speak to the current status of youth in the city. Hence, the need for a youth policy that will inform sustainable development of young people in Bulawayo.
This action is building on already existing efforts by other collectives who have worked on the Youth Policy previously. Last year, Zizo Motion Pictures and Home of Arts working with leaders of youth centers under the Safe and Inclusive Cities project with Plan International reviewed the current policy and came up with a position paper that detailed the key issues faced by youth in Bulawayo. In the same vein, Bulawayo Vendors and Traders Association (BVTA) in the year 2022 submitted to the City Council a Model Youth Policy that elaborated on the principles and values that should guide a policy and provided proposed priority interventions/ areas (read about it here). Riding on these initiatives and the current availability of quite a number of youthful councilors YIT is convinced that this is an opportune time to have a Youth Policy sailing through the City Council.
The current task of the Working Group on the Youth Policy is, therefore, gathering information that feeds into a sustainable policy that will guide the city forward. To kick this off, the Working Group will be holding a Youth Indaba on the 28th of June 2024 at Isilwane Youth Center in Pumula. The purpose of the Indaba is to harvest the voice of youth and feed into what the councilors have already been doing to improve youth development. The Working Group has also launched an online survey with the same purpose that can be accessed through this link https://forms.gle/VmUYVoVvh1bjNm6X9 This geared up team is made out of representatives from Youth for Innovation Trust (YIT), Home of Arts Entertainment, Zizo Motion Pictures, Pumula Youth Leadership Forum, Yellow World and Ultraverse Consultancy. The team is supported by the strong leadership of Ward 17 councilor Sikhululekile Moyo. Of course with political will from the Bulawayo City council, the Working Group on the Youth Policy is hoping to usher in a new dawn for youth development in Bulawayo.
Youth For Innovation Trust 