Editorial.

PositionEditorial

As I write these words, I am picturing in my mind's eye the many young men and women I have met in so many places throughout the Americas, and I am thinking about the great satisfaction I feel when I see young people in key decision-making positions, willing to get involved and to participate actively and responsibly in forging the destiny of their communities and countries. My encounters with them have taught me that when situations are the most complex and challenging, they are willing to find solutions and make changes.

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That's why it strikes me as especially curious that today the term youth" is so often associated with the collective image of abstention and apathy or with problems like unemployment and violence. In reality, young people have always been the protagonists of positive processes in their societies. The way we view young people has an influence on how we formulate strategies for approaching the problems that impact societies and affect youth themselves. We must not fail to see that young people are a fundamental asset for socio-economic development.

Young people today are expressing themselves and making commitments in a different way than their parents and grandparents did. and they are using a great deal of creativity and innovation as they tell people about their legitimate ideas, demands, and interests. In the Americas, we can say proudly that we have a younger generation that wants So participate actively and responsibly in creating its own reality and future. These are young people who believe that participation is an important tool for contributing to the democratization of political, social, economic, and cultural relationships. They want to do away with the idea of first and second-class groups and forge a reality in which we are all equal citizens in the Americas.

Society as a whole should make a commitment to democratizing access to participation and to helping boys, girls, and teenagers participate constructively and peacefully. Debates must be broadened and opened to issues that...

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