Provincial Head of Islamic Propaganda Fars: Teenagers Should Be Their Own Narrators

Head of Islamic Propaganda in Fars Province, stressing the need to rethink educational and cultural approaches, called for genuine participation of the younger generation in designing and implementing programs, saying: Instead of creating programs for teenagers, we must build programs with teenagers' own hands.

According to Ambassador Arjan, Hojjat-ul-Islam wal-Muslimeen Muhammad Baqir Voldan raised the key question that if today's teenager is going to judge us ten years from now, what will he say about our performance? He said: Have we held a program so far only for the teenager to become a program maker, or have we given him the opportunity to speak and be active?

He considered this approach as the starting and fundamental point in planning for the youth week and added: Teenagers are not only the audience of cultural activities, but they can be idea generators, activists and leaders.

Emphasizing the need to rediscover the characteristics of adolescence, Hojjatul Islam Veldan said: Identity, independence and the need to make an impact peak at this age, and if cultural programs do not answer their identity questions and concerns, expensive programs will not be effective either.

He considered the transition from occasion-oriented to problem-oriented as the main solution and added: the week should not be turned into a series of scattered celebrations and programs, but by identifying the real problems of teenagers in Fars province and taking advantage of their cultural and Quranic capacities, they should be provided with an effective role-playing ground.

He also explained five practical ideas for holding the youth week in a different way and said: Ideas such as the formation of idea generation groups in the neighborhoods, implementation of charitable and social actions by each youth, narrating the concerns and heroes of the new generation with simple tools, the presence of youth representatives in the decision-making chairs, and the application of Quranic teachings in everyday life can take the youth week out of the ceremonial mode.

Director General of Fars Islamic Propaganda added: This coherent plan gives teenagers the opportunity to think, make decisions, act and see the results of their work at the same time.

Referring to the Qur'anic roots of human dignity and following the example of the young companions of the cave in intellectual and religious independence, Hojjat-ul-Islam Voldan emphasized: the ultimate goal is to empower and give identity to the new generation, so that by passing the top-down view, teenagers can be the main partners in building the future of society.

Adolescents are real partners in building the future of society

Hojat-ul-Islam Veldan announced the slogan "Today's youth, tomorrow's builder" as the focus of the upcoming activities, and emphasized the need to form three practical commitments in the programs and added: "Every neighborhood, a group of teenagers" plan provides a basis for identifying issues and implementing local ideas, in the framework of "every cultural institution, a real opportunity", instead of a ceremonial invitation, teenagers are given specific responsibilities and by implementing "every superior idea, an executive sponsor". After the review, the selected ideas will receive the necessary support and will not remain at the level of conventional appreciation.

He added: Our criterion will not be counting the number of ceremonies, but the degree of participation of teenagers in the design and the degree of change created in their living environment will be the criterion of action.

Director General of Fars Islamic Propaganda, pointing to the necessity of cooperation between institutions such as education, mosque centers, and popular organizations with a clear division of labor, stated: Teenagers are not only the future generation, but they are a part of our society today, and Teen Week is an opportunity to trust them and give them the field of action.

He said: The ultimate goal is to reach a model where the teenager is not a spectator, but a design partner and champion of positive change so that a new movement is formed in schools and neighborhoods.

Emphasizing that the measure of the success of the youth week is not the number of programs held, but the number of opportunities created for the real role of teenagers, he expressed hope that the outcome of these meetings will lead to a real impact in the lives of the new generation.