Youth Grass Roots

Congratulations to the organisers, sponsors and participants of the Rocky River Run and Relay for Life.  The attendance at both events was awesome. Excellent demonstrations of what a community can do at grass roots level. The other pleasing feature was the number of youth participating. A generation stereotyped as self obsessive, incommunicative (face to face) and lazy; their willingness to actively get behind these causes demonstrates the promise they offer. This is the generation who dreams of what they can achieve, who believe they can change the world, that believes you can make something out of nothing (after all they’ve got Google, Twitter, Facebook as examples). This is the generation we need to foster if we want Australia to have a more affluent, happier economy; not just for some but most. Yet when one recalls that tertiary education was once free, apprenticeships were plentiful, casual work meant a Saturday morning or a Thursday night leaving you free to enjoy more of life; have we really nurtured the bold ambitions of youth? How would a chart recording Australia’s Gross National Happiness over the last 40 years slant? Not GDP (Gross Domestic Product) which politicians and economists keep talking about, but GNH. A term coined in the 1970’s by the then King of Bhutan. Basically measuring how well management of the economy fulfils the conditions of a good life for all it citizens; a holistic indicator not just an economic one. The Federal Government appears to be focussing solely on economic indicators in its tough love budget, arguably making it more difficult for youth to go to Universities and little in tackling youth underutilisation in the work force; affecting nearly 1 in 4. In building vibrant communities we need to listen and encourage our youth to dream, to change the world, realise the power of persistence and see failures as stepping stones to success. The numbers of youth attending community events indicate that they are active contributors despite increasing hurdles they face to pursue their individual dreams. As a community we need to replace the support the federal budget is taking from youth with grass roots encouragement to keep nourishing their dreams and ultimately their achievements.