Majority under 25 see American power overtaking China, contradicting experts fearing Beijing as the new coloniser and wary of an isolationist first term.
Picture: iStock
The future belongs to the young and nowhere is that more true – with more promise – than in Africa. By 2050, one in four people globally will be African… and the majority will be under 25.
That’s why the Ichikowitz Family Foundation biannually compiles a survey of youth attitudes around the continent.
“Understanding their ambitions, concerns, and expectations is essential for anyone seeking to engage meaningfully with the continent.”
This year’s survey has plenty of food for thought for those who believe they know how young people think.
The biggest eyebrow-raiser has to be the finding that, while half of Africa’s youth worry that US President Donald Trump could disregard international laws and norms to seize the continent’s resources, an even bigger proportion – two-thirds of them – believe Trump’s second term will bring them a better future.
That seemingly contradictory attitude – simultaneously wary and optimistic – indicates that tomorrow’s leaders in Africa have a balanced view of the world… perhaps unlike the older generation who are, more and more, settling themselves into opposing camps.
It also indicates that young Africans don’t dismiss American power as readily as their elders, who grew up as colonialism ended and the socialism and communism of the former USSR and China dominated the ideological debates in newly independent countries.
They also believe American power has overtaken that of China, contradicting the views of many experts who feel Beijing is lining up to be the new coloniser in Africa.
The optimism about Trump shows that the president’s second term has been about projecting an image of a great power becoming great again, whereas the first term was isolationist and disparaging about places like Africa.
African youth know what is happening around them… and that’s a good omen for the future.
