It is often said that the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. From shaping the future of families to communities to countries, youngsters are dealt the responsibility of carrying the baton of progress forward. In such a world, its only fair that we surround these ‘leaders’ of our future with the best of ameneties, opportunities, and facilities so that they may truly shine. On that thought, we at Yo Vizag attempted to understand how our city, Visakhapatnam, could meet the needs of our youth better and set them up for success. In honour of International Youth Day, we put up a question on Instagram, asking youngsters to share what their biggest challenges in Visakhapatnam were. The responses we got indicated that Vizag’s youth face many hurdles regularly that hamper their quality of life.
In almost all the responses we recieved, unemployment was a recurring theme, with one in every two people listing it as an issue. This is not surprising, considering that the employement sector in Andhra Pradesh has been in a grim state in the recent past.
In fact, the India Employment Report 2024, published by the International Labour Organisation and the Institute for Human Development, assigned AP a score of 0.54 on the ‘employment condition index,’ tying it for 11th place with Assam, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Haryana. With diminishing job vacancies in both the public and private sectors, even youth holding graduate and technical degrees are facing high rates of unemployment, the report said.
The picture in Visakhapatnam seemingly reflects these facts, with several dissatisfied youth chanting, “Lack of job opportunities” while replying to our question.
But that’s not all. Some youths pointed out that harrassment and lack of safety was also a major concern. “Unemployment, no queer-safe spaces, women’s safety, poor communication skills.” said one user. Another commented, “I observed one thing – when guys see a girl they start commenting in a vulgar way.” Women’s safety is seemingly a big worry, undoubtedly depriving young girls and queer individuals of inclusive spaces and the freedom of secure movement.
Meanwhile, another user stressed upon the need for a community. “There is no sense of community. Vizag has no passion, no initiatives in Vizag for youth, with youth,” they said, pointing to a lack of connection and network for the younger generations.
Meanwhile, tying back to the unemployment debacle, a user replied, “Drugs and less career opportunities, and no good exposure to a wide range of studies or professional courses.”
These thoughts, shared by the youth of Visakhapatnam on International Youth Day, go on to prove that the cities we live in are so influencial to our individual growth and happiness. It is up to the local authorities to take these concerns into account and create a space where these needs are met.
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