New business opportunities
Social business has a positive effect on socio economic variable, including many social illness and poverty alleviation
Md. Atikur Rahman
The youth of today are the future citizens of tomorrow. It is therefore, imperative that they not only understand the problems facing the country, but also meet the challenges head on. Youth power has been the genesis of many a revolution around the world and even our first fight for language movement and independence. Their phenomenal strength if effectively mobilised could help in nation building that is the need of the hour.
It calls for a concentrated effort on the part of the government by involving them also in this monumental task. This has been done successfully in many European countries, where social service is a part of the curriculum. Only when the youth have dedicated themselves in this task should they be considered eligible for being awarded with government jobs. This has had a salutary at large. Their interface would help remove many social evils still prevalent in the society.
A proper orientation of the youth is required in the social elevation of the society. This will equip them to meet the challenges of their life more practically and successfully. The government should seize this opportunity and harness this power by making social service.
Recently speakers at a dialogue in London city, laid emphasis on using Prof. Yunus concept of social business to cut youth unemployment, also use it as the catalyst for climate change. News reports said as unemployment is running high in the European Union, its leaders are also working on promoting both the social business and micro credit to combat growing unemployment in the recession prone nations.
Recession is specially bringing down government spending to various youth development activities and especially to their skill development programs. Here not only micro credit but also social business can open new horizon in creating new self employment opportunities and income generation activities. Social business is creating new outreach in the development nations focused on creating a new economic system, away from the exploitative regime of the capitalist system. It seeks to develop the low cost manufacturing and distributing system so, the poor and middle income people in the world can afforded a decent living. The youth seeking help from social business are on the rise. The concept pioneered by Nobel Laureate Prof. Yunus emerged as a major tool to the alleviation of poverty and create a goal for social development at a time when Europe and specially the UK was suffering from growing youth unemployment.
In social business, there are specific socio-economic objectives such as employment generation, reaching health, education and nutrition at low cost besides fighting environmental degradation. The prime objects is to make young people ready and accept their own responsibility through training of entrepreneurships of social business at low cost to serve people at an affordable cost. We believe that the youth will be able to effectively build a bridge between climate change and employment generation.
Youth initiative UK (YIU) has initiated to promote Bangladesh as eco-friendly cheap, cost effective and light weight Jute and Cotton bags (Eco-bags) within the London bought of Tower Hamlets. The initiative and exchange view on certain issues related to the promotion of the social business practice though introducing environment-friendly products like jute and cotton bags for daily shopping. For the first time UK uses jute and cotton bags in Tower Hamlets. Mainly jute and cotton bags can be used as substitute for daily shoppings plastic bags throughout the Tower Hamlets area as a pilot project for saving the environment.
On the other hand, youth in our country can play a significant role in spreading socially critical issues and save the environment. The benefits of self reliance could be demonstrated by augmenting the governments efforts in forming and running cooperation. This will not only make them self reliant, but also provide employment in the villages itself. This will save the cities from congestion, on account of the large-scale migration of villagers to cities in search of employment. The youth on the other hand should rise to the occasion and take it as a challenge, rather than a humdrum assignment to be just done with. This would be possible if they work with a missionary zeal, in eradicating the age-old shackles that are eating into the vitals of our country. They shall not only help the country, but shall be laying down the foundation, for their own happy and prosperous tomorrow.
In conclusion, social business has a positive effect on socio economic variable, including many social illness and poverty alleviation. So, the government would create a policy- i) poverty alleviation programs; ii)environment that is supportive of agriculture and rural non-farm sectors; iii)oriented towards small farmer development; iv) capable of providing right incentive to adopt new technology; v) mobilisation of local resource; vi) conductive to higher investment in social and economic infrastructure in rural areas and vii) adequate functioning of rural institutions and provide market access for rural products. These policies are to improve the socio-economic conditions of the target groups through substantial increase in income and the empowerment of the rural poor and unemployed youth. For a densely populated country like Bangladesh we can no more afford to leave the environmental issues to be decided by individuals.
There is a need to consider appropriate legal measures for achieving and maintaining sustainable development. In this respect mandatory environmental impact assessment and bringing the denuded land under tree cover required immediate attention. Mainly the aim of social business is to impart training to the unemployed youth in various fields for employment opportunities in rural areas and make them self-reliant for cleaning up pollutions.
The writer is a freelancer
