Before referring specifically to the forthcoming seminar, I should like to put it in the context of the development process. Some people may think that population concern and specifically population education are a fad of development practitioners which may soon be abandoned. What I should like to emphasize is that rapid population growth is an inevitable part of the historical process of the last two hundred years and can in no way be forgotten or ignored.
The history of the past two hundred years has been dominated by the so-called industrial or technological revolution. This has brought an avalanche of social and economic change including increased welfare for many as well as rapid population growth in all parts of the world. It is an irreversible process and no country or individual can avoid it. Some people may think that the world was better before the process began but there is no going back. Like the title of the popular song, "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off," going back to the pre-industrial phase is pure fantasy.
However, when accepting tyhe fact of world wide change we should never forget an aphorism which contains an enormously important truth. It is, "change is inevitable but development is not." To promote national development the process of change must be managed at all levels in the country and every effort must be made to make the best use of existing resources. The Government of Swaziland has laid a firm foundation for development in seeking to take the best from the past and combine with the best from the modern era. Within this framework the knowledge, attitudes and practices of everyone in the Kingdom need to be focussed on the development process, including, as one of the key areas, population growth.
When communities were small, when diseases were devastating, and when land was superabundant, a large family was desirable. However, all of these conditions have altered. Effective use of resources for the people of Swaziland will only be achieved if there is more concern for population planning. In this connextion, it is highly gratifying to note that this is already being done in some areas. For example, it was recently reported that the Chief of KaDvokolwako has advised his subjects to plan their families so that the population explosion in the area can be avoided. As he noted, people should not ignore the fact that the land is not expanding when they bear children.
The UN System is seriously concerned about these problems throughout the world and as part of this concern, many Agencies within the system such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are working to introduce population education to rural youth.
What is population education? Population education can be defined as the process through which people develop an awareness and understanding of the nature, cause and implications of population growth, as they affect and are affected by groups and individuals. For young people, this knowledge is crucial.
Over the past several years, many countries have begun to introduce population education into elementary and secondary school programmes. Unfortunately, in many developing countries, the majority of rural youth may have dropped out of the education system, or have never attended school at all. Therefore, there is a need to develop a methodology for reaching out-of-school rural youth with a population education message.
In this context, UNFPA is funding an FAO inter-regional project. Under the first phase of the project a collection was made of existing materials which were then reviewed and a preliminary selection was made of core contents for use in population programmes for out-of-school youth which are to be the subject of this seminar. After the conclusion of the seminar a prototype leader's manual will be prepared which will aim to help young people to be aware of the implications of population pressure and be in a position to make firm decisions about their family lives.
May I wish you success for the seminar.