A study report prepared by the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh showed that 69.4 per cent of Bangladeshi youths aged 18-35 see corruption and nepotism as major obstacles to development in the country.
The study titled "Youth Perspectives in the Current National Context” was conducted online involving 5,075 young individuals. Of them, 59.2 per cent respondents were from urban areas and 40.8 per cent from rural areas. Of the total, 78.3 per cent were male, 21 per cent female and 0.7 per cent were hijra or transgender.
According to the profile of the responders, 53 per cent were students, 38.3 per cent were employed and 28 per cent were unemployed.
According to the report, lack of transparency and accountability ranked second at 46.5 per cent, followed by prioritizing the interests of vested groups at 32.6 per cent and lack of institutional capacity and coordination at 28.1 per cent.
Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Towfiqul Islam Khan presented the findings at the "Youth Conference 2023" at Krishibid Institution Auditorium on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Citizen's Platform for SDGs convener Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said that the population of Bangladesh is currently around 165 million and a significant portion of them are young people between the age of 18 and 35. This age group is growing in numbers and proportion with each passing decade, making it the largest potential workforce in Bangladesh.
Stressing on the importance of the country's sizable youth population, he highlighted the role of the youth in shaping the country's future and expressed concerns about effectively connecting the hopes, aspirations, and expectations of the youth within society.
He emphasized the potential of the family as an institution to play a significant role in practicing democracy while discussing the evolving role of the family in managing the state, politics, social policy, and the profession.
Dr. Debapriya expressed optimism about increased youth participation in the upcoming elections, hoping that any lingering concerns would dissipate in the coming days.
Citizen's Platform for SDGs conducted the online survey of 5,075 young individuals aged 18-35 in Bangladesh to gain insights into their perspectives on the country's development agenda. The survey focused on voting, political participation, policy awareness, freedom of expression, and youth representation concerns.
According to the profile of the respondents, 89.4 per cent are registered voters, but 53.8 per cent have never voted in national elections while 46 per cent never voted in local elections. Of the youths only 11.6 per cent have interest in politics and 35.2 per cent remain indifferent.
Of the respondents, 51.8 per cent prefer discussing politics through social communication and 30.5 per cent discuss it with family, 67 per cent through social media. Of the youths, 79.1 per cent rely on social media for news on development policies/politics.
About freedom of expression, 43.1 per cent feel hesitant to express their opinions while 36.4 per cent have faced criticism/disapproval. However, 4.1 per cent believe youth are almost always represented in political party decision-making, while 32.8 per cent think representation is negligible.
Of the youths, 67.8 per cent feel expressing opinions through social organizations, NGOs, or civil society is most effective.
According to the respondent youths, the country has advanced in indicators like infrastructure advancements, IT adoption, improved educational accessibility, and expanded social safety nets.
While mentioning development priorities, the youth thinks that ensuring anti-corruption, accountability and freedom of expression should be the first priority, following by quality education and skill development, decent employment for youth, economic growth and infrastructure, quality and affordable health care for all, agricultural development and others.
