Mentorship Is Needed to Ensure Good Growth 

We can all agree that the world has changed since the turn of the 21^st century. Social media and our embrace of technology has sped up life in general and also the political field so much that we can also all feel the imbalance in our sense of reality for at last the past 15 years.

In that time, a new generation of young men and women has begun to step up and engage in politics and public service in order to build a better society for themselves and our future.   

Are they ready is the question?  Are they equipped?

The signs of interest are everywhere.  In just the one example of the surprising turn of events around the 2008 election of President Barack Obama – we could see a new dynamic of youth rising globally.

Their inspiration is woven with energy to serve our community within our country and to make the world a better place. All well and good but it brings about a critical need for mentorship. Our youth require guidance in principles and patterns that are beneficial. Modes of behaviour and thought as they seek political power and become our decision makers in the changing landscape of politics, globally.

The enthusiasm to enter public service has been an element in some of the most inspiring stories, globally of young politicians of every stripe – whether you support their views or not. Some are in development. Some have inherited or been elected to power, already. Stories such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Katrin Jakobsdottir the Prime Minster of Iceland, Italy’s Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Juan Guaido of Venezuela, Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, Kim Jong- Un of North Korea, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, Borgo Maggiore of San Marino, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan and Andy Rajoelina of Madagascar among other new leaders and newsmakers.

Around the world a new generation of leaders is rising and they are impacted by a politicized social media. Look closely and you’ll see some are simply too young and ill prepared to manage a country. I fear they are not getting support and mentorship to develop into strong and consistent leaders.

How will they make good decisions for their citizens? How will they inspire new immigrants as to what is of value?

There is a lot of activity. Conferences, meetings, analysis and the sharing of concerns and the making of statements via Twitter. But what real and wise action is being taken? What of the long term impacts beyond a fast fingered, quotable post on social media?

In Canada, our up and coming leaders are also young such as the opposition’s Andrew Scheer the Conservative leader and Jagmeet Singh of the NDP. These are the change-makers of the new century, the new millennium, who will drive legislation governing the millennials. How can they be successful if there are no role models and mentors to assist them?     

We should guard against sinking into easy ignorance and mediocre mentality as seen since Donald Trump and his questionable world change and bad behaviour examples.  

Where are the elders with balance, wisdom and a knowledge of the past while our young leaders look to the future?

This lack of some tradition of development and structure means that instead of listening to the people and acting in the collective’s best interest, politicians are stick handling their way through their own careers and deciding and announcing at top speed their own agendas.

Our common ground has shifted. Whoever can’t move along on the program is sidelined like our seniors, new immigrants and the segments of society our new politicians do not relate to. Because they have no experience of them and no guiding hand to bring them up to speed.

What’s our situation now?

Our political system overall, since entering the new millennium has become more divisive and politicized. As a collective we feel much negativity and even intimidation and our mediocre approach drags many problems forward instead of resolving them. We need action.

Soon we will gear up for another campaign to secure four years of power. It will be the expected political dance competition with many of the same old, classic tunes. New and young people and their ideas are welcome BUT with some depth with more collaborations among communities, between provinces and with our federal offices if we want to achieve greatness and to rank Canada as a star among nations.

It will take leaders who are serious and charismatic to conceive of and to lead the changes that are required to set us on a path in the right direction.

It will take collaboration not just winning some political points with no plan.

It will take applying our collective efforts – from the West Coast to the East Coast to the South and to the North that can help us to unify and to regain our identity as a nation. 

African elders have always taken the wise choice to pass knowledge and wisdom to the next generation of elders in development, so it is with most elders in communities globally. Those blessings of mentorship from our elders prepare young leaders to take responsibility and to succeed with confidence.

Let us not lose our ability to clearly understand the danger humanity’s is going to face in the blur of the speed of smart technology.

Let us not disconnect from each other. 

It is each of our civic duty to engage our elders intellectual treasures and lessons to mentor our younger and up and coming politicians. Again, no matter what their views or philosophies, be they Mulroney, Mulcair, Harper or Chretien – they have a responsibility to apply their life experiences and broader view and to mentor our next leaders.

“We become what we feed our children. Simply, if we want our collective future to be brighter, let us choose to feed our youth from a menu of uplifting political nourishment. With supportive mentorship.

By Honore Gbedze