Youth representatives from across Africa will meet next week in Morocco to discuss the continent’s most pressing problems, including HIV/Aids, poverty, the environment and the technology gap, the organisers said on Thursday.
”We bring the young together and we let them loose, let them work together to solve these problems,” said Djibril Diallo, chairperson of the United Nations-sponsored Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit..
The gathering, the second of its kind, will take place in the Moroccan mountain resort of Ifrane from August 18 until August 23. The first meeting took place last year in Dakar, Senegal, and inspired spin-off youth conferences in Latin America and Asia.
African representatives — one woman and one man per country — will be joined by around 100 delegates from Asia and the Americas.
All participants are between 18 and 30 years old.
With sports as this year’s theme, participants will explore ways of using athletics as a tool to promote peace.
Roughly two-thirds of the delegates attended the 2004 summit in Dakar and will draw on their experience to lead workshops and training sessions this year.
”Last year, we found that being in the same room with youths from all over the continent empowered the participants and gave them the confidence to put their projects into place,” Diallo said.
Returning Cameroon delegate Eugene Ngalim will present an anti-violence campaign that trains college students in conflict-resolution techniques.
Clement Bwala, of Zambia, will showcase his ongoing project to promote reproductive health and HIV/Aids prevention on the sidelines of soccer games.
United States-based computer company Sun Microsystems will provide technological support and streaming internet coverage.
The company will also address a major grievance of last year’s participants, who complained that shoddy telecommunications in their home countries made it impossible to keep in touch after the conference. With some participants hailing from places with virtually no web access, Sun is looking to provide delegates with
cellphones.
”Some of the participants come from areas where there’s a great deal of connectivity, and it’s very easy,” said Sun’s chief researcher John Gage.
”But others come from areas where there’s almost none at all. We’re going to find solutions on a case-by-case basis using new, cheap telecommunications technology.” – Sapa-AP