Few days ago, I reminded all young people in this ‘youths square’ what the world awaits on 12th August following the declaration and directives mapped out by the United Nations which has been for years. It is a day symbolic for all young people across the globe to gather and discuss on their full engagement(s) for a better global action. It will end not only in discussing the topic but also reminding, spurring and giving the young people the energy to fully embark on this engagement through positive contributions and actions.
This action cuts across youth involvement for social change, good democracy, education, policy making and implementation, quality representation etc.
As we count down to this global feast, below are quotes that should provoke deeper thoughts so as to celebrate and live the theme of this year. These quotes, both popular and unknown, may prove to be inspiring, thought-provoking insights that can inspire and motivate young people to take Action. Or, they may simply be words of wisdom.
Remember that “Only through action do words take meaning”.
“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
“There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long- range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” — John F. Kennedy
“The freedom and human capacities of individuals must be developed to their maximum but individual powers must be linked to democracy in the sense that social betterment must be the necessary consequence of individual flourishing.” — Henry Giroux
“Students should not only be trained to live in a democracy when they grow up; they should have the chance to live in one today.” — Alfie Kohn
“It is because modern education is so seldom inspired by a great hope that it so seldom achieves great results. The wish to preserve the past rather than the hope of creating the future dominates the minds of those who control the teaching of the young. ” — Bertrand Russell
“Education is education. We should learn everything and then choose which path to follow. Education is neither Eastern or Western, it is human” – Malala Yousafzai
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — Marianne Williamson, as written for Nelson Mandela.
“Education should not be the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” — William Butler Yeats
“This is a time for bold measures. This is the country, and you are the generation.” — Bono
“This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.” — Robert Kennedy
“The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they — at some distant point in the future — will take over the reigns. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely… because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties. For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile.” — Alvin Toffler
“Our youth are not failing the system; the system is failing our youth. Ironically, the very youth who are being treated the worst are the young people who are going to lead us out of this nightmare.” — Rachel Jackson
“Youth involvement has moved forward. It is no longer seen as a rebellious act, the way it was a few decades ago.” — Maureen A. Sedonaen
“…Youth voice is crucial to the overall effectiveness of service- learning programs. Youth voice has a tremendous impact on program participation and program outcomes, both short term and long term.” — Education Commission of the States
“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” –Howard Zinn
“Washing ones hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.” – Paulo Freire
STILL COUNTING DOWN!!!
Fr. Emmanuel Tochukwu Onunkwo
YOUTHS SQUARE 