The world is seeing once again the upsurge of a vicious “virus” that has spread to every corner of the world. This time, the “virus” is that of social, cultural, economic, political, institutional, legal and religious discrimination against people of different skin colour, social status and historical origins. Racism is everywhere and people around the…

In the time of Coronavirus, young people have organised to prevent COVID-19 from spreading and supporting their communities. In Cameroon, Achalake Christian, the coordinator of Local Youth Corner, has launched the “One Person, One Sanitizer” operation to prevent the spread of coronavirus, especially among the poor. He’s working with young people to produce and distribute…

A comprehensive survey of Africa’s youth – the African Youth Survey 2020 –has just revealed a rising Afro-Optimism among the continent’s youth driven by a strong sense of individual responsibility, a post-colonial mind set, entrepreneurship, and confidence in a shared African identity. Africa’s youth believe they can solve problems collaboratively, and are hopeful of fighting…

It’s two years until the next World Youth Day, which will take place in the city of Lisbon in 2022 and in that intervening time, Pope Francis is inviting young people to reflect on the themes for the diocesan World Youth Days of 2020 and 2021. “Young man, I say to you, arise!” is the…

Africa emits only 5% of world greenhouse gas emissions yet is most at risk from worsening heatwaves, droughts and floods. African youth activists urged their governments to do more to combat climate change to safeguard food and water supplies on the continent most vulnerable to rising temperatures. Deforestation in Africa and local energy policies promoting…

Australia, Philippines, California and Central and South Africa have been recently hit by severe drought and endless forest fires.  Thousands are suffering. Plants and animals perish. This we must and can stop. The experts and advocates saving the planet call it an “ecocide” where the ecology and environment is being destroyed before our eyes. There…

Hundreds of thousands of young people have taken to the streets from Johannesburg to London to demand radical action on the unfolding ecological emergency. It is a time to challenge the people with the means and power to eliminate poverty, change their communities, build a nation and fight climate change, a cause of poverty, and…

During the Synod for Amazonia, we heard stories of young Indios who struggle against environmental exploitation, in recognition of their own identity, and they want to create an alliance with the young people of the West.  The earth is not a good to be milked dry but an inheritance to be handed down. Marcivana Rodrigues…

The world is afire again, the flames heartbreakingly consume shrubs, trees and forests in Australia, Portugal, Brazil, and recently in California and Siberia and elsewhere too. The world community has reacted in protest to the hundreds of fires burning the Amazon rainforest. These are destroying the habitat of thousands of endangered species and the communities…

In his fourth apostolic journey to the African continent, visiting Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius Pope Francis said to young people: “keep dreaming and moving forward”. In Mozambique, Pope Francis encouraged young people of different faiths to not give up in the face of their country’s challenges, but to confront them with joy and hope. “How…

Plastic is so prevalent in our lives that we don’t even notice it anymore. It is convenient. It is cheap. It is ubiquitous. The unfortunate truth is that more than 70 percent of the plastic we use does not get recycled, and much of this plastic trash gets swept into our oceans from beaches or…

The Leadership Development and Mentorship program has an ambitious agenda for training tomorrow’s leaders across Africa. Africa is by far the world’s youngest continent, with a median age of only 18. Such a large population of young people presents an enormous challenge for the governments of Africa’s 54 countries. Resources must be found to ensure…