I wrote this blog post from the CYF6 in Uganda.
These past six days, I have been in Entebe Uganda for the Commonwealth Youth Forum, which preceds the Commonwealth Heads of government meeting. I am here with Ms. Ewajesu Asala as co-participants from the Nigerian government. This year’s theme is: Breaking the Barriers: Unleashing Young people’s potential for Development and its being attended by youth representatives from 48 out of the 53 Commonwealth member states. Its my first time at a pan-Commonwealth meeting since after being selected Regional Youth Caucus representative for Nigeria, so its a unique opportunity too see how the Commonwealth functions.
Since I came to this meeting, I have been asking colleagues if we really need new commitments from governments. Commonwealth governments are part of the big United Nations that made the groundbreaking Millennium Development goals. How much progress has been made with the implementation of the MDGs in Commonwealth countries? Poverty, health problems, poor education services, poverty and many more challenges are still being faced by these countries.
The Commonwealth Youth Programme recently launched the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE 2007-2015), could this be the needed opportunity to act towards investing in youth development and empowerment efforts with a firm commitment by Commonwealth heads of government? Is it possible to use the space to push for young people’s increased leadership in development processes at national level in various countries? Is it possible to increase the visibility of Regional Youth Caucus members and work with them as the voice of youth throughout the Commonwealth? I am really looking forward to the final communique from this meeting. Intense lobbying is also going on.
At the end of the Youth Forum, 6 selected young leaders will have a dialiogue with some heads of government in Kampala. This will probably be the space to ensure that youth issues are put more firmly on the agenda. President Museveni put it clearly at the opening, young people should stop asking for space to participate, they should start taking advantage of the spaces available to advance their leadership skills and development processes in their respective countries. Maybe this Commonwealth Youth Forum will be the ground breaking event that will set that agenda. I will write more from this forum as often as I possibly can.