卷首語
作者：Angie Pinchbeck Maisie 譯
"If 16-year-olds are old enough to drink the water polluted by the industries that you regulate, if 16-year-olds are old enough to breathe the air ruined by garbage burners that government built, if 16-year-olds are old enough to walk on the streets made unsafe by terrible drugs and crime policies, if 16-year-olds are old enough to live in poverty in the richest country in the world, if 16-year-olds are old enough to get sick in a country with the worst public health-care programs in the world, and if 16-year-olds are old enough to attend school districts that you under-fund, then 16-year-olds are old enough to play a part in making them better."
Those were the words spoken in 1991 by Rebecca Tilsen, 14, regarding lowering the voting age in America. Powerful stuff. It's easy to forget when dealing with kids that youth have an opinion. Youth have a voice. And when both are used simultaneously, youth have power.
Since May 4th, China's Youth Festival, is fast approaching, this month we'll be looking at the power of youth and the positive impacts our younger generation can have. They are forging a better future. While young entrepreneurs like Edwin Broni-Mensah and Poppy Dinsey use creativity and their technological savvy to make their dreams reality (New Entrepreneurs: Young Guns Go for It), visionaries like Zuhal Sultan display utter gumption in their drive to contribute to and design a better society (Zuhal Sultan: I Forged Harmony amid Chaos).