Analysis of recent demographic data shows that Bangladesh has a significant ‘youth group’ – more than 40 to 50 percent of the Bangladeshi population is now under the age of 24, with a significant portion centered on the cohorts aged between 15 and 24. This youth group provides great opportunity. This group has the potential to create a ‘demographic dividend’ in the right policy environment. The combined effort of a large working-age population supported by appropriate health, family, labor, financial and human capital policies can create sustained cycles of wealth creation.
Bangladesh may well be in a position to take advantage of the ‘demographic dividend’ and use the potential dynamism and productivity of its young population to create sustainable economic growth. Interventions in the areas of education, food, employment, health and family planning seem to have the most potential in this regard. To the extent possible, interventions will engage youth as providers in their own assistance and will work with youth to identify needs and the best ways to assist young people. Thus the youth of Bangladesh like other countries can make the food justice movement success and could take local actions designed for national impact where both local and large-scale social actions aimed at changing national policies.
For example, ACTIVISTA Bangladesh, youth network of Action Aid Bangladesh in association with United Nations Youth and Students Association (UNYSA), Bangladesh has organized a 3-day long nationwide signature campaign on Ensuring Rights for the Marginalized and Ensuring District Budget called MYP Dhaka Declaration 2011 Signature Campaign. The campaign has taken place in 27 universities covering seven divisions of the country from 19th April to 21st April aimed to get 20,000 thousand signatures which has been achieved successfully.
The aim of the campaign was to disseminate information among the youth to make them aware and take a stand by signing a Youth Declaration. Besides these, the signature campaign will play a very vital role in reforming and amending policy and/or the constitution in order to ensure food justice for all. All the signatures will be placed to the office of concerned District Councilors (DCs) shortly in order to achieve higher concentration from the policymakers. Because, achieving food justice will require a transformation of the food system. This will require strong social movements capable of creating the political will to truly transform how we grow, buy, prepare and eat food. Lessons from the signature campaign suggest how today’s food justice movement can be organised by the youth. In particular, a new, youth-led, multiracial coalition could unleash the voice and energy of those with the most to gain from transforming the food system — The Youth.
