CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland

Youth Development in Underdeveloped Countries

Organiser: Lazarous Kabalo

Cohendez, Monica (Universidad Nacional del Centro de la provincia de Bs.As., Argentina) PORTRAIT OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE IN ARGENTINE, CRISIS AND STRUGGLE
The material condition of young people in Argentine works against them: not only education but work couldn't be reach by youth. This social exclusion have emerged, last December of 2001 like "threat" as they mobilized in "saqueos". Most of then reject ideology and traditional political practices, in this way our hypothesis is that empowerment of every day life come from affective alliances: music, aesthetics conventions, media practices, styles of language, etc. Can we analysis this practices as "politically"? In an "underdevelopement" country they resistance to crisis or they redefines the meaning of political practices? This work consider the discuss about political practices and the multi-accentual meanings which involves young participation in the social scene, the social dialogue must be put into focus in terms of development the diversity.

Kabalo, Lazarous (University of Zambia, Zambia) CHALLENGES FACING THE YOUTH TOWARD A GOAL TO DEVELOPMENT IN ZAMBIA
Zambia as a country has been faced with uncertinty regarding the role of the youths in development. Development should be ideally seen as staring from investment in the human resource and the benefits accruinng from this investment. In Zambia, the human resource remains far from being given top priority and thus youth contribution to development remains a myth. This paper tries to bring to light some of the difficulties being faced by a zambian youth today to try and make a meaningful contribution. Do the youth make a portion of policy making process, do they have their core problems addressed? Do they have the institutional capacity to overcome their immediate problems to pave way for long term goal formulation and planning?

Chama, Jonathan (University of Zambia, Zambia) AIDS AND THE YOUTH IN ZAMBIA (FACING AN UNCETAIN FUTURE)
What are the future prospects? Is there hope form the poor african youth? What are the main factors that contribute to a high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the african youth? What can be done, what is being done and what has been done to curb the scourge? Indeed africans have witnessed the loss of it's fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties and many more people to this killer disease. It's been estimated that many more will die in millions in the next ten years. At the core of this problem, the african youth is most affected. Africa's own young has already been earmarked for the grave, threatening serious sociocultural and economic consequences for africa and indeed the entire world. It's hoped that the answers to some of the aforementioned questions might provide means and ways of controlling the situation. Time is running out and africa needs help now!

Iftikhar, Ahmed (Journalists Resource Center, Pakistan) INTRICACIES OF YOUTH UNDERDEVELOPMENT ­ A CASE STUDY OF CHAKWAL DISTRICT
The paper analyzes the dynamics of youth underdevelopment in Chakwal. It views local, provincial, national and international programs aimed at the development of "the youth" since 1985- Chakwal made District- and the resulting complexities and failures as collective and individual experiences. It interprets crime and its distribution among delinquent subculture of "the youth" and explores the emerging culture of "Gigolos" because of poverty- of opportunity, identity, direction and access to Police and other functionaries in the District that is largely money oriented. Afghan refugees (settlers) capturing a chunk of local market vis-à-vis indigenous youth finds a place in the paper. It sees the underdevelopment of a never contentious youth subjective to popular notion of fate and destiny and finally explains, enumerates the weaknesses of the existing institutions, and suggests viable options for (re) building of institutions and (re) structuring of indigenous resources for regeneration of local youth through scientific temper.