A three-day conference of Afghan youths was inaugurated on Monday, July 02, 2012 to discuss the issue of reconciliation with the Taliban and other insurgent groups. They will also discuss other important issues such as administrative corruption, establishment of the US military bases in Afghanistan, unemployment and educational opportunities for youth.

Youths in any society have energy, enthusiasm and diligence. Afghanistan is also a young country- that is to say- youths make up majority of its population. Youths have the ability and skills to connect globally and learn from the experiences of other countries in developing democratic government. Youths have the ability to listen to others- even if they have an opposite point of view.

They have positive commitments to fundamental democratic values such as tolerance and coexistence. But unfortunately over the last ten years the government has not provided an enabling environment for the youths to play their role in politics. Youths are educated and education can play a vital role in promoting democratic political involvement.

The organizers of the youths' conference have said that the pivotal issues will be reconciliation with the armed opposition and how to create a national consensus. While it is important to provide the opportunity for the youths to partake in the ongoing peace process, it must be emphasized that the process itself needs to be redefined in order to yield any results.

About 1,700 young Afghans - both male and female - have gathered from across the country. The participants laid stress on bringing about a national consensus and unity. They also called for national mobilization to get the country rid of the ills facing it.

The participants also called on the government to provide the opportunity for the youths to participate in political and social issues. There are a couple of points that need serious consideration:
1) The government unfortunately prefers tribal elders over the youths. It just uses the youths as a means for its vested interests.

2) National consensus or mobilization cannot happen without fundamental changes to the political system and power structures. These changes must be fundamental enough to accommodate the diverse interests of our multi-ethnic society. The current winner-take-all system and structure does not have the capacity to enable such a national consensus.

So the participants must think strategically and pay attention to the root causes of the issues and problems that they are discussing. Corruption, ineffective peace process, unemployment and lack of sufficient educational opportunities for Afghan children are all the results of ineffective political system and power structure.