On the 24th of October Zambia celebrated its 39th birthday since its independence in 1964. Many places and buildings were dressed in national colours these being Green, Red, Orange and Black. The president gave a well done speech as mandated and people danced in many areas. Unlike years back in the 80s the test and appreciation for this particular occasion has gone down. When I was a kid I recall the then President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda leading this day and it felt like another Christmas day. Maybe by then a good number of freedom fighters were still alive and vividly looked back to remember their efforts in liberating Zambia with Dr. Kaunda.
However, the Generation of today seem not to take this day seriously and they take the freedom currently obtaining in Zambia for granted. They have no clue how hard life was for the fore fathers of the nation to bring peace to days state.
Even though the day has past I would love to say that Zambia has been a peaceful nation and it is a peaceful nation to date. No wander many visitors opt to stay forever when they come from around Africa or overseas. Somewhat, this is what I value the most and how I wish everyone out there was living in peace. I am glad that even as I look forward to this coming year as being a much more successful one, for the nation, I can see most Zambian learning to be self reliant and entrepreneurs. This, probably arising out of the drastic effect of the IMF and World Bank policies that sucked the economic and industrial strength of Zambia after sending many companies to close and workers thrown jobless.
Well at least these people are living in peace and I can only hope for a better tomorrow.

Technology has advanced rapidly in the recent past. With multiple influx of computer and spreading of the Internet to the globally community, the youth have taken a leading role in this aspect, of course this being my opinion. Politicians, church leaders and several other sectors of life have always identified the youth as the leaders of tomorrow. Looking at my home scenario, you will find the majority positions related to ICTs being captured by a span of youth in work places. The old folks have taken a lazy step in learning more about the new computer in their offices. Most of what they do is type their emails and do their reports in Microsoft word. The may go a step further by browsing on a website of specific interest to them. Others cross the road and go browsing on pornographic website as they lock themselves in their offices. Corporations and institutions have had to put measures to prevent the search for nudity on the net.
Where there is a computer there ought to be a youth! The youth are everywhere on the networks. They have taken storm of the Internet and proving their superiority. At several times news has been made by the unscrupulous hackers as young as teens penetrating the most secure networks. The youth spend extra time trying to learn something new. They explore everything that comes along including new software. They on the look out for advancements in both open market and licensed software. The young have taken task of doing as much hardware work as possible. SchoolNet Namibia, which refurbishes computers and provides Internet services to schools, is one good example with the youth at the core of a computer and Internet based organisation. Here in Zambia you will find the majority of youth at ICT workshops and conferences. The youth have set up computer repair shops and they have become entrepreneurs. They maintain many 'local area networks' and are breaking and assembling computers. The young are always packed in business centres browsing the net until their financial resources cannot allow. It's the youth that will attend the new computer courses and it's the youth in Zambia that will tell you about the latest software released.
Youth are really the leaders of today in ICTs!