Monday, April 28, 2008

Time is of the Essence


The following is excerpted from Ayo Atsenuwa’s keynote address to the conference.

We have inherited a legacy. There wasn’t much recognition of a state between childhood and adulthood. You were either a child who was not to be seen and certainly not to be heard [and] who was not recognized as a full human being. And next, you were an adult.

If we are going to make progress [in adolescent health], we need to recognize that time is of the essence and every skill that we have, we need to deploy. The exigency of the future of development compels us to take action. All around the world, the health situation of young people give us reason to worry.

How far should research go? How much research is required? We need to research into any and every area. An intellectual society ought not to fear research. Some fear research will unearth things they will be uncomfortable with. I think we need to emphasize that research only unearths what exists, what is the reality.

Ayo Atsenuwa is executive director of the Legal Research and Resource Development Centre in Nigeria.

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