The rationale behind this article is both principled and practical. Young people are agents of social change and affected by social change. Young people will live with the consequences of decisions taken today longer than any other sector of the community. Young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but should rightly be viewed as active and legitimate participants in society today. Furthermore, if young people's problems are to be addressed effectively, it is necessary for youths to be involved in the process as the perspectives that they can provide will lead to better solutions

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ZAMBIA
For the seek of those who don’t know where Zambia is, it is in south-central Africa. Its neighbours include Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique and Congo DR
According to the United Nations report of 2003, Zambia’s population currently stands at 10.8 million people. The life expectancy is 33 years. Zambia has a large population of refugees, most of them from Angola, but there have been increasing numbers escaping the Zambia has moved from being a major copper producer and potentially one of the continent's richest countries at independence in 1964 to one of the world’s poorest countries. A colonial legacy, mismanagement, debt and disease are said to have contributed to the country's tribulations. Politically, it switched from colonial government into an era of one-party rule lasting 27 years. A multi-party system emerged in the early 1990s.The country is landlocked and sparsely populated by more than 70 ethnic groups, many of them Bantu-speaking. It is known for its spectacular scenery in places such as the Victoria Falls along the Zambezi River, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Luangwa River valley. Even so, Zambia In the late 1960s Zambia was the third largest copper miner, after the United States and the Soviet Union. World copper prices collapsed in 1975 with devastating effects on the economy which still receives most of its foreign earnings from copper, and there is some optimism about the future of the industry, which was privatised in the 1990s. Electronics manufacturers have fuelled demand for copper. Aids is blamed for decimating the cream of Zambian professionals - including engineers and politicians - and malaria remains a major problem. Three-quarters of Zambia's population lives below the World Bank poverty threshold of $1 a day.fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Being a poor country, in Africa especially, there are a number of problems faced by the youths in this country and these are my area of concern as a youth. Most of these problems, which will be mentioned here, are actually from personal experience in my journey as youth in this country.

LACK OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Being a youth is one of the most challenging stages in life, at this stage in life, the choices you make are what determine what the future holds for you. In Zambia, youths don’t have so many choices as pertaining to there future. The biggest problem is finding the opportunities that can determine your future. By this I mean education [tertiary education]
Immediately you finish your high school they are very few opportunities to go further on in education. This is not to say that they are more opportunities when entering junior high or high school. In 2000 1,589,544 pupils were enrolled in primary schools and about 161,300 in secondary schools. Vocational and teacher-training schools had nearly 8,200 students. They are only two universities in Zambia: The University of Zambia which was opened in 1965 in Lusaka is the country’s leading institution of higher education; it has about 6,200 students. The other university in the country is the Copper Belt University which was opened 1987 based in mining town of Kitwe

LACK OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION
With information communication technology [ICTs], the biggest problem is access to information tools. The most difficult tool to access is the computer [internet, in particular]. In Lusaka [capital city of Zambia], there are no Internet cafes that provide free Internet facilities. Even at the university of Zambia where I am a student they is no free Internet even though, people pay 600us$ per year as tuition fee!!! If a varsity student can’t afford Internet, what more an ordinary poor person who earns less than a 1$ per day? They are very few people who are computer literate, even those who are computer literate have to pay a heavy price for training.
Access to computers and the Internet are not the only problems when talking about communication. Other forms of communication are very expensive. Telecommunication is more expensive in Zambia than any other country in southern Africa. To most youths, owning a cell phone is just something they dream of. Internet is also very expensive, as a result they are very few people who surf the Internet.

DAILY INCOME&INCENTIVES
Compared to other nations of the west which have welfare systems for their citizens, in this country each person has to fetch for themselves. There’s no way whatsoever that government can give you free cash. As a result of this most youths are paid by political parties (either those in opposition or in government) to destabilise political opponents.

EMPLOYMENT
According to ILO/SAMAT 2000, Zambia has a labour force of 4,037,000, in which Youths (12-24) formed 33.4% and 67.5% are unemployed. In 1999, the youth unemployment level (12-19) was 38% and stood at 29% for those aged 20-24 years. (Monitor for Human Rights and Development Issues).In 2000, the Zambia Statistical Office stated that those aged 15-25 years constituted half the total 6 million unemployed. The informal sector employs 78% of the youth labour force, while the formal sector only employs 11% (SARPN)

POVERTY
About 40% of the population in developing countries live in absolute poverty. Areas in of poverty concentration include: sub-Sahara Africa, south Asia and parts of Latin America where three quarters of the population live in poverty and two third of the worlds population reside. In Zambia, 80% of the population are poor or live in poverty. The remaining 20% of the population is the one that considered to be living above the poverty datum line.

HIV/AIDS
Young people are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and
Frequently carry the burden of caring for family members living with HIV/AIDS. Lack of access to HIV information and prevention services and a host of Social and economic reasons contribute to their high risk. Stigma and
Discrimination can be particularly damaging to young people at a time
When they are trying to consolidate their identity and establish their
Place in the world. In Zambia AIDS prevalence (15-20 years) was estimated at 20% (Horizon).HIV/AIDS currently poses the largest health threat as the public health sector is stretched to the maximum with the outbreak of the pandemic. In 2001, HIV/AIDS prevalence for the 15-49 was 21.52% (UNDP). However the Zambian Health demographics survey estimates HIV/AIDS prevalence for the same age group as 16%.

CONCLUSION
There has been widespread recognition that youth participation is a vital component of social development. The challenge now is to transform that recognition into practical reality and ensure that this participation is meaningful and taken seriously. Zambia is rich in mineral resources and its mining industry is its dominant sector and major earner of foreign exchange. Zambia has about the best emeralds in the region and these compete reasonably at the international market. The agricultural industry is another element in the economy. These sectors have the potential to serve as employment and self-employment ventures for youths given that the educational and skills needs of the sector are matched in Zambia’s educational system