The initiative championed by the Chairman of the AUC, Moussa Faki Mahamat aimed at building capacity of about 300 million young people in Africa including those witnessing and participating in the All African Games.
It is envisioned to give concrete opportunities to young people on four thematic area namely; “Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Engagement and Health and well-being”.
The youth pavilion initiative is targeted at reaching out to at least one million youth in the age bracket of 15 to 35 in Ghana to engage and interact with each other and share ideas on developing skills and exploiting the numerous opportunities on the continent.
The initiative, supported by the United Nations (UN) UNFPA and the IOM, also celebrated women, and thought young on sexual productive system and migration was well attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif; the Vice President of Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal Al-Saud; the Director of the UN’s International Organization for Migration Special Liaison Office to the AU, Mrs Mariama Mohamed Cisse; the UN Resident Coordinator, Charles Abani; and Director of Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate at the AUC, Ms. Prudence Nonkululeko Ngwenya
Gender gap, migration
Ms Ngwenya urged young ladies in Africa and participating at the All African Games to embrace the opportunity at the youth pavilion to learn and be well equipped for the opportunities available i ln the competitive world.
She said, “one of the things that have been lacking in terms of investment is capacity and economic empowerment for women. Currently, the gender gap for financial inclusion on the continent is US$42 billion. So we need to do a bit more and call on all stakeholders to make sure that our women and young people are well set on the ladder for change by being included financially and economically”.
She added that the one million next level coupled with AU’s Agenda 2063 which makes provision for free movement of Africans on the continent would ensure that skilled youth on the continent migrate to other countries in Africa.
Commitment
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif said as part of government’s commitment to the youth has put in place measures and initiatives such as “Free SHS, promotion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), establishment of Youth Parliaments at the District & Regional levels, Skills Towards Employability and Productivity Programme, the launch of a ten-year National
Youth Policy, and YouStart programme” to improve the plight of the young people and promote their over-all well-being.
He noted that the AU’s Youth Pavilion is “a step in the right direction, especially in this era of championing the course of young people towards economic growth and national development, the youth of every country play a very critical role as they are recognised as a strategic asset for nation-building and development”.
He added that the Youth Pavilion would serve as an incubator for various youth related activities, shared experiences, foster empowerment and give young people a platform to network and tap into other opportunities yet to be explored.
Commendation
The UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani lauded government for the investment made in organising the All African Games which is hosting over 13,000 people.
Source: graphiconline
