Youth forum stresses more space for youth participation

Abstract

Young people from around Africa gathered in the historic Africa Hall for an intergenerational Youth Forum with selected Heads of States and government as part of the 50th anniversary of the Organization for African Unity/African Union. In an electrified atmosphere, moderated by Zeinab Badawi of the BBC, participants, young and old alike agreed on more mechanisms to give more space to the youth underpinned by a new intergenerational social contract. The energy of Africa’s youth, and their frustration with current conditions, has to be channeled through right policies, said Carlos Lopes, UN Economic Commission Executive Secretary, adding that they are the most important contributors to the Continent’s structural transformation. He offered examples of young panafricanists, such as Kwame Nkrumah, Abdul Gamel Nasser, Modibo Keita and Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Frantz Fannon and Nelson Mandela who made their mark in shaping Africa’s political transformation. “Their ideas and contributions continue to be a source of inspiration for us today; they were great mobilizers, builders, purveyors and believers in the ideals of pan-Africanism,” he said.