Better leaders for a better society

Youths have a vision! There is no doubt about it. Apart from a vision, however, we are actively working to realise that vision into reality. We believe we can improve our society; to a certain extent we are quite sure we can do a better job than our parents are doing. This is the beauty of youth: We can dream, We can plan and we can act.

We live in a society where young people are becoming more active once again. The amount of youth organisations here and beyond our shores is immense, and although each one of them has its own distinct values and principles, the main aim is generally the same: Creating better leaders.

I have just returned from Brussels where I spent a few days on one of Junior Chamber International's activities and their motto struck me: Creating better leaders to create better societies. This should be the raison d'etre behind all we do.

If we want to improve our society then we have to invest in people on an individual basis. We have to give everyone the opportunity to excel in what they feel most comfortable with, in what gives them greatest satisfaction, in what motivates them to keep on improving, always.

We need leaders! Like entrepreneurs, leaders are not born but made. We need to inculcate the spirit of leadership. We need youths who are not afraid to speak their mind. We need youths who are an inspiration to other youths into being more proactive. We need youths who are able to do things differently.

Society today is investing heavily in us. Our education system, with its defects, is one which is certainly giving us the necessary tools for our future. With the introduction of scholarships for postgraduate studies, the government is giving another clear signal it wants to invest even more in us.

It is, however, also our duty as youths to train ourselves so as to excel in what we do. The opportunities are immense. Young Enterprise, Junior Chamber, university, social and sport organisations all offer us a challenge to improve the way we do things.

Apart from making life much more interesting and giving us the opportunity to meet different people, such organisations leave a positive impact on our characters.

They help us improve on our confidence, they help us analyse in more detail, open our mind and understand and appreciate the diversity of the world around us. It depends on us to take the plunge and participate.

We need to be proactive, we need to go into challenges head first and prove to ourselves and to the ones around us that we have what it takes, that we are the future and, because of us, then the future is bright.

It is only in doing our best to excel in what we do that we can then be sure that our society will be a better one.

Mr Gouder is deputy mayor of St Julians and a Nationalist Party candidate for the general election.