By Stephen Muneza
Delegates from all over the world have Monday joined Ugandan youth leaders and dignitaries as senior government representatives from more than 30 countries, as well as young people, youth workers and donor organisations as the 9th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala kicked off.
“Mainstreaming youth into our development plans and ensuring full participation of young people in our processes are of great importance,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland while opening the historical summit.
“Partnership is in the very heart of the Commonwealth. It infuses everything we do” she added during at Stakeholders Forum opening speech just after the main inaugural that was also graced by Hon. Minister of State for Gender, Peace Mutuzo.
In the afternoon, a dynamic panel in the youth forum discussed the power of information communication technology, media and innovation for resourcing and financing of youth development, before a final panel for the day for stakeholder forum concluded day one of the event that has a commitment to invest in young people – every country’s greatest resource.
The meeting is held every four years and is the most important Common Wealth Conference for young people.
Ms. Lilian Aber, chairperson of the National Youth Council Uganda told TheUgandan that State and non-state actors are required to address challenges facing young people with Uganda leading in youth participation in the world by empowering them through Gender Ministry’s Youth Livelihood Programme and the Uganda Women Entreprenuership Fund among others. However a comprehensive approach needs to be adopted youth development, Ms. Aber insisted.
On Tuesday, Ministers are set to agree a raft of policy objectives to advance the ambitions and needs of young women and men aged under 30. The theme of the meeting, held between 31 July and 4 August, is ‘Resourcing and Financing Youth Development: Empowering Young People’. The theme acknowledges young people’s role as nation-builders and the imperative to invest in their social, political and economic empowerment.
The Ministerial Meeting that continues up to 4 August 2017 will support governments ministers and senior officials to identify and adopt innovative solutions to financing and resourcing youth development, take stock of pioneering initiatives and forge new partnerships. Practical measures will be recommended to ministers by delegates.
Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Janat Mukwaya and her Permanent Secretary will also speak on Tuesday before President Yoweri Museveni joins the debate.
The summit, taking place 25 years since the first ever Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting, comes as the world’s youth population has reached a record 1.8 billion people aged 15 to 29. In many Commonwealth member countries, young people make up a quarter to a third of the population.
Leading development partners and donors joining Ministers at the summit include the African Development Bank, the Amersi Foundation, Comic Relief, DFID, the IFRC, the MasterCard Foundation, NEXUS, UNICEF, UNFPA and USAID.
