A battle of the ages: Old wisdom vs new ideas

The Africa Youth Panel (AYP) is blaming prominent politicians for failing to provide young people with mentorship skills in various roles and positions.

AYP was part of the youth summit on Monday in Blantyre where their discussions bordered around the theme Have the Youth Given Up?

The forum specifically focused on coming up with solutions while pressing to unleash the Power of Youth Participation and Leadership in Electoral Processes’.

National Coordinator for the Africa Youth Panel, Nyokase Madise, expressed disappointment over the fact that prominent political figures are not giving the youth a platform to learn, describing it as a rotten political system.

She said: “There has not been any window for a meaningful discussion between the two sides on mentorship in political leadership roles because of the existence of age gaps etcetera.

“Culturally, we are groomed to believe that our elders are always right and that the young blood are wrong and without direction in life. This is also another challenge which is affecting youth participation in politics.”

As the 2025 general elections draw closer, some youths are stepping up to the challenge of assuming leadership positions.

Mphamvu Kalima from Nsanje is an aspiring ward councilor for Nsanje Nyamadzere area in the South West constituency.

Despite having a condition that affected her growth and being a female expected to contest for the public seat, Kalima is confident that she will be victorious come the polls because she has been acquainting herself with leaders to boost her confidence.

A 2023 Afrobarometer report shows that 67% of Malawians citizens believe that for the country to do well, people should listen more to the wisdom of the elders rather than to fresh ideas from young.

Only 30% think they should instead listen to fresh ideas from young people, a situation which Madise believes deserves change of mindset.