Botswana upbeat about World Youth Conference

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Friday May 14, 2010 00:00

According to the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) chief, Fidelis Molao, the Botswana National Youth Forum on Saturday is a precursor to the World Youth Conference where the youth from the five continents of the world will meet to come up with a UN agenda for world youth. According to Molao: 'As youth in Botswana, we want to contribute towards the Africa position. We consulted the Minister responsible for youth, and we agreed on this weekend forum from where we will come up with a representative position.'

'Basically at the Big Five Lodge Forum, the youth will be speaking for themselves. We will then consolidate those views and then take our position to a regional meeting of SADC Ministers of Youth due in Namibia at the end of this month,' Molao elaborated. He said the SADC regional meeting in Namibia will also see all SADC youth councils meeting to deliberate on youth recommendations from their various countries resulting in a position paper for SADC, which will then be passed to the meeting of SADC Ministers of Youth.

Molao said the latest development will contribute to youth development in the SADC region and Botswana in particular saying Botswana would be able to benefit for the first time from the SADC youth development position expected from the Namibia meeting.

'For the first time we will have a SADC youth development agenda, and as a country we would in future tap on the recommendations of this historic SADC youth position to drive youth issues in Botswana. For the first time we will have a document we can benchmark with,' he pointed out. According to Molao, the SADC position will later be taken to a continental forum where other regional blocks will also present their positions.

The continental meeting to be held in Abuja, Nigeria, will ultimately adopt the Africa Youth position to be taken to the world youth conference in Mexico. Molao says contributing to the Botswana position on Saturday will be the youth wings of Botswana's political parties, the University of Botswana student representative council (SRC), the district youth councils, principal youth officers, various youth NGOs, and other BNYC affiliates and members.

He says they have also invited the UNDP office in Gaborone to present on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and how far Botswana has gone in achieving them.  The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, Samuel Outule, is scheduled to officially open the Saturday event.