Be a better youth for the world

By: Alushe Mupewa

"Marsha Venkatesan is one of 10 Seattle-area Youth Ambassadors involved with " and " "We The Setting Up Future" exhibit at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center. During a meeting of the group, she jots down thoughts about LGBTQ+ justice to practice communicating social justice issues with exhibit patrons who may or may not be familiar with the issues at hand. Photographed Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019." - Crosscut

Let us develop a standard of respect-based acceptance as the international youth.

Since independence in 1990, unity despite our differences has been the message of Namibia, my home country. Unfortunately, there are still problems such as gender-based violence, transphobia, homophobia, and stigma against abortions. It has slowly become clear that to achieve true unity, there should be equality and acceptance built on our respect for each other's differences in Namibia and across the world.

It is easy to get lost in debating various topics and fighting each other virtually in today's society. Still, it's essential that we, as the world's youth, form a basis of truth and acceptance that we all respect to preventing chaos. As the youth of our young planet, we must leave behind the old prejudices passed down onto us, form our own opinions, and learn to stand strong within them while being open to different perspectives.

"Freedom fight we have won", is an important part of Namibia's national anthem that I want to acknowledge. Brave Namibian people that came before me fought relentlessly for the freedom that all Namibians take for granted, and this is a sad truth for many other countries. We must work together to ensure that those brave souls didn't die in vain. Our parents and grandparents taught us how to get along regardless of one's candor, skin color, or gender, and we are more than thankful that we mainly do not experience the issues of racism and sexism at the level that they once did. But those issues are still a problem, and it is our turn to break down the barriers of gender expression, mental illnesses, disabilities, sexuality, etc., for the next generation.

We should embrace the democracy that we will inherit and use the platforms that we are privileged enough to have to spread positivity and mutual respect for one another. Let us make the world a better place for the next generation as the previous generation did

for us.