Definitely, Youth Matters: Passing on the Torch

Over the years, some argued that the young people have been disengaging from society  and politics. And as COVID-19 continues to grip the global sphere and democracy faces ongoing pressures, more youth participation is needed to effect change.

It was for this reason that the youth wing of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), CALD Youth, together with the Liberal Youth of the Philippines, gathered young leaders in Asia to discuss liberalism in the age of COVID-19 and the importance of the youth. Held on 6 October 2020, the virtual event was broadcasted live in the  CALD Facebook page.

“COVID-19 and its socio-economic impact is putting the youth populations in a vulnerable state, and it is up to us to continue moving forward…, said CALD Youth Siripa Intavichein in her opening remarks. “Now more than ever, we need to participate and exercise our civil rights”, she added. Former Thai Prime Minister and former CALD Chair Abhisit Vejjajiva stressed that all societies need young people more than ever and encouraged the youth to continue to fight the good fight for a better future. “I’m sure that each youth movement in various countries in the region will face their own specific challenges and problems in dealing with the authorities, but don’t lose heart. So long as you are adopting an agenda that will benefit the majority of people, so long as you’re fighting a good fight for a better future, I am confident that…you’ll be setting society on a path towards a better system that you are aspiring to, and that your fight will inevitably be picked up and carried on by the next generations that also come along,”  he said in his Ted-Style Talk.

Youth in the new normal

“So what can we do when COVID-19 hampered our means for political participation and representation?” asked Elroy Rendor, Executive Director of Center of Liberalism and Democracy in the Philippines, as he opened his presentation.

“We challenge the rules of  the game,” he said. The rules of the game now favors listening into what is in the digital – which is now the arena of the youth. “So as more people are locked in their houses, the politicians have no choice but to resort to listening, turning their ears into the digital landscape.”

Since we are looking at a new normal, where everything is online, Naresh Subramaniam, from Singapore Democratic Party’s youth arm, believes that social media is the biggest advantage and medium of the youth for their voices to be heard in this post-pandemic world. “This online scape empowers people. You can do things  and reach out to a number of people that you can’t do in real life,” he explained. “Embracing this empowerment through social media, you realize that your voice counts and that it can reach out to more than you think, if it’s presented properly and accurately.”

Issara Sereewatthanawut, Member of Parliament in Thailand, shared similar sentiments as regards social media. “Media pedagogy helps our youth to matter more, and potentially drives our liberalisms to become unconventional. Social media encourages the exchanges of information, as well as opinions in the amount that is unprecedented and unexpected.” Aside from media pedagogy, he also discussed that energy and technology are the things that make the youth matter even more in the age of COVID-19.

While some argue that the young people have been disengaging, there are commentators insisting that young people are not disengaging but they have just found different – new and innovative – ways to be involved, just like in Malaysia. According to SEDAR Director Zhi Yi Ooi, in Malaysia, despite the relatively toxic political environment that they have, young people were able to devise new method of political participation. One organization, for example, organized a digital Parliament for young people who are interested in government issues to voice out their opinions and  debate on government policies, maturely and constructively.

CALD Youth Secretary General Jeremiah Tomas closed the webinar by posing a challenge to the youth: “We are facing an unprecedented moment in history and it is up to us to continue that movement, just like Khun Abhisit’s generation back then. All of those regional leaders have done their part to fight for democracy and uphold liberalism in Asia. Now, it is up to us, the youth, to move forward in this fight for liberalism and democracy.”

Watch the web talk here.