Young Future Africa - Images, Imagination and its Making: An Introduction

Abstract

Introduction To begin with some generalised observations, when talk is of the future, children and youth never seem to be far off. Apparently, for a good reason. For how can we imagine the future without them? In common public discourses, it is often said that “children are our future”, but for generations, doubts have been expressed about whether “today’s youth” will be able and willing to creatively shape the future. This doubt is indicative of what society expects from children and young people: while they may be seen as carriers of political and economic achievements and the existing social order, they are, after all, the symbol of new horizons, change, and of a brighter and better future. However, such expectations are also often bound up with worries concerning the future prospects of children and young people. Perhaps this has always been so (Lindenau 2009: 9f). But the pace at which social, economic and political changes are currently taking place in the world, while bringing new advances and opportunities, also brings feelings of insecurity and fear of an uncertain future. This field of tension between uncertainty and hope with respect to young people and the future is possibly a cross-cultural phenomenon. However, it is perhaps nowhere as palpable as in Africa. There, the special significance of children and youth is clear for demographic reasons. Around two thirds of the population of the “young continent”, as it is often called in political and academic discourse