SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Our youths ignited the first spark of the revolution, hoping for a brighter future. However, it is not enough to say that they should only take part in building the ‘New Egypt'; it is most important to train them to do so. They have proven to the world that they have the organisational skills for launching a revolution. Now they need the knowledge to devise and apply strategic plans for the realisation of this huge project. This knowledge depends on two factors that I would like to address.For several months, prior to the uprising, I read reports, articles and blogs. I interviewed dozens of young people from different social strata, wondering and asking what was happening to our youth. Why did I see a lack of aspiration, ambition and hope? I felt discouraged and saddened that the young in many Western countries had the tools to succeed and were encouraged to develop skills to secure a better future, while our youth did not have access to such opportunities. Now, with their engines blazing, the young people who participated in the uprising must channel their energy into the right direction. There are two important factors that need immediate action if this revolution is to succeed. The first factor to be addressed is poverty. Poverty is the most powerful cause for unrest in any society. It leads to stealing, begging, irresponsible behaviour and other illegal acts. All this disrupts the welfare and security of a country. When an unemployed father looks at his starving children and has absolutely no money or means to feed them, he will steal, cheat or even kill to get food for his family. In the 2009 UN Human Development Report, poverty in Egypt was estimated at 40 per cent in rural areas and 18 per cent in urban areas. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in co-operation with the Egyptian Government published the report Child Poverty and Disparities in Egypt, which was released on February 16, 2010, in Cairo. It stated that child poverty was on the rise and that Egypt's economic growth in the years leading up to the 2009 financial crisis was of no adequate benefit to the nation's estimated 28 million children. This growth did not lead to a corresponding reduction in poverty and deprivation. An estimated 23 per cent of children under the age of 15 lived in poverty (on less than $1 per day). Lack of basic income is directly linked to home deprivation. If the issue of poverty is not addressed promptly, grave consequences will tarnish the White Revolution. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs demonstrates that poverty stifles human development. The theory states that we must satisfy our needs in a certain order, starting with the most obvious survival needs. When our basic needs of physical and emotional wellbeing are fulfilled, we are concerned with the higher needs of personal development. According to the Human Development Report for 2010, recently released by the United Nations Development Programme, 90 per cent of Egypt's unemployed are below the age of 30. Unemployment feeds into more poverty. Digging deeper into the data reveals that the primary cause for unemployment in this age group is a lack of proper education. Which brings us to the second factor - education. The current education system fails even on the most basic level. Many young people do not get the kind of training that would enable them to develop into productive citizens after graduation. The absence of a progressive education system that could compete with other countries is holding our youth back from academic and social success. There are ten fundamentals for success, which need to be incorporated in any curriculum: 1. Attitude: this goes both ways. The teacher should act professionally and treat his/her students with respect. The students, in turn, must take their education seriously and approach their studies as enlightenment and means for personal development. 2. Excellence and perfection: neither teacher nor student should stop short of perfecting their tasks. A saying of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) comes to mind: “Whosoever of you conducts any kind of work (action, deed, employment), should perfect it.” 3. Discipline: when there is no discipline, including self-discipline, there will be no success. Discipline is the realm where boundaries and rights are formulated. Both the student and teacher should have sufficient discipline to avoid transgressions. 4. Confidence: Teachers and students should be confident that the education system leads them to success. 5. Handling adversity and success: to have a constructive attitude, a student should learn how to handle problems without confusion, and success without arrogance or conceit; the same applies to the teacher who faces daily challenges. 6. Strength: educators and students alike should help each other sail through tough times, which in turn will strengthen them to continue on their road to success. 7. Responsibility: everybody involved must be accountable to themselves and those around them. Accountability to others is the check and balance system to perform a task properly. 8. Team: teamwork gives a sense of belonging and responsibility. Each team member contributes with their effort to the whole and can feel part of the successful outcome. 9. Hope: the element of hope should never waver while fulfilling one's task. Students and teachers together nurture the hope for success and a better future for Egypt. 10. Love: the foundation on which people work together to achieve success. Resentment and hatred create discord and drain the energy. We need a new education system to train the young in skills that will help them achieve their aspirations. This new system should incorporate scientific methods and encourage creativity, critical thinking and analytical approaches to equip them with the tools needed to compete with their counterparts in more developed countries. Scientific laboratories, libraries, computer labs and much more need to be established in our schools. A portion of the funds Egypt receives from the International Monetary Fund could mend our education system. Our children are not worth less than those of any other country; they certainly deserve the best teachers. Many teachers under the old regime were businesspeople and not educators. A complete evaluation must be implemented to filter the true educators from the opportunists. Two fundamental questions: Are the teachers adequately trained? Are they being adequately monitored? Our country must invest in projects to end poverty, in programmes and workshops to produce committed teachers and develop a successful education system. There must be efforts to secure better jobs for our youth and ways to create employment. The general attitude of negligence we all experience in many areas of life must be overcome. The young revolutionaries demonstrated great courage, energy and enthusiasm during the uprising. They overcame the ever-present fear of the oppressors and their draconian punishments. This same energy, enthusiasm and fearlessness needs to be used to create a healthy society in which the young can be trained, encouraged and supported in building their future, in building the ‘New Egypt'. Hedayat is an Egyptian writer who regularly contributes to The Egyptian Gazette and its weekly edition the Egyptian Mail.
