Youth Is Economic Power

Arthur Zang

(Cameroon Tribune) Entrepreneurship, fight against poverty and employment are key issues youths raised at the Abidjan summit yesterday.
The future of her youth is in Africa and not Europe. This statement read to the over 80 Heads of State present at the 5th African Union-European Union Summit that opened in Abidjan yesterday kept no one indifferent. In effect, it was another way of telling African and European leaders
that youth are not in the real sense of the word interested in traveling to Europe for greener pastures.
"Slavery is something we read in history books, we don't want it in our generation", the representative of the youth in Africa stated very clearly in her speech. This statement buttressed by the young lady who spoke on behalf of youth from Europe translated the spirit of the recommendations formulated during the youth summit that preceded yesterday's event.
Investing in youth is a prerequisite for building a sustainable future. Representatives of the youth organisations from Africa, Europe, and the Diaspora who met in Abidjan for the 4th Africa-Europe Youth Summit in October made this clear in what they described as the Abidjan Declaration.
According to the statement, the African and European continents are compelled to collectively work together in order to overcome the issues preventing progress within their interconnected societies. This they said, requires support to and the advancement of education, skills development, mobility and access to markets, youth participation and young people’s access to rights.
Investing in youth means providing the right environment for young people to reach their fullest potential and positively impact their societies. The whole gamut of recommendations hinged on enhancing education and skills, business, job creation and entrepreneurship, peace and security, including countering violent extremism and radicalisation, environmental preservation and climate change, culture and arts among others.
In order to guarantee the successful implementation of these recommendations, the youth stressed the undeniable need for: the establishment of a participatory mechanism to monitor and evaluate the progress of the Africa-EU Partnership, which ensures cross sector collaboration between governments, CSOs, Diaspora and youth organisations.
Also, the dedication of funding from the AU and EU institutions within the framework of the Africa-EU partnership and finally, Europe Youth Cooperation to further boost opportunities for real partnership and exchange, and to support the implementation of these recommendations.
LUKONG Pius NYUYLIME