To mark a significant day in the global calendar, dignitaries and young people came together to celebrate International Youth Day on the 12th of August 2022 under the aegis of African Young Brain.
In attendance at the virtual meeting hosted by Dr Femi Awoyemi, among other dignitaries was the former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Sarah Sosan, Professor Fola Faponle, Professor Ojogbon, Dr Adeniyi Olayanju, Dr Olumide Adedeji PhD, FCA and Dr Mercy Agumadu (FIPMA, MIASAS, ELMP, MANUPA).
The first speaker of the event, Olusoji Adeniji, called on the need to have conversations pointing toward the balance of all age sects as well as the need to connect all generations for effectiveness in both social and workspaces.
While addressing the attendees of the meeting, on the 22nd edition of the International Youth Day, he stressed the consciousness of the pathway the society should take towards collective relations as regards intergenerational changes which he said was because the youth of yesterday are adults of today and the youth of today will become elders of tomorrow.
In his words “the bulk of the problem we have in the society is prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s age bracket which affects both the young and the older generation. This ageism devalues and limits the contribution of both generations to collective development”
“Ageism can operate both consciously and unconsciously and can be expressed by an individual, among social networks and in institutional and cultural settings. It affects everyone and it’s seen everywhere” he stated.
Also contributing to the event was a professional career coach, authorized DISC Administrator/Behavioral Consultant and a licensed HR professional Mrs Phebean Amusan. She called for the need to be excited as Africans in times like this as she cited a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) showing that in a few years about 375 million young people of working age will come from Africa, thereby harnessing the need to leverage the potential in Africa.
“We need to identify different sects of generations and what they represent, their behaviour and characteristics so that no one is left behind. These generations have unique needs and strengths as well as needs and demands and because oftentimes we do not see the good in the different generations, we have used that to stereotype and bring about discrimination when it comes to dealing with different generations” she said.
Stressing on diversity and inclusion, Mrs Amusan called for the need to be culturally intelligent and celebrate all attributes of different generations in the workplace as well as ensure that each generation’s character is leveraged for excellence.
While rounding off her comment, the HR executive noted that mentorship is of great importance for the older and younger generations to learn great skills from each other.
