Former Minister of Youth Affairs Calls For Sustainable Livelihood Programs to Motivate African Youth Innovation, Creativity and Apprenticeship
The Former Minister of Youth Affairs of Sierra Leone Hon Bai Mahmoud Bangura has called on African Heads of States and Government to intensify provision of affirmative action for the creation of Livelihood programmes to encourage Youth Innovation , Creativity and Entrepreneurship inorder to enhance a realistic pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He made this call during the 2021 AFrican Youth Summit at the UNIMAK Auditorium on Friday 15th January 2021 in Makeni where he reminded the audience that the number one enemy of youth empowerment is the fear of losing what we have.
Mr Bangura thrilled the summit with his vast knowledge on global youth issues , including youth violence , demography, culture and background as youth growth desperation nowadays momentum is like a magnifying glass that makes things look bigger than they really are.
He stated that , a universal strategy to address youth issues has always failed because attention has not been given to the diversity in culture, history and background. He added that youth issues in fragile States could be more complex to address comparatively, and that economic, political and social youth violence are major challenges in enhancing a peaceful youth environment for empowerment and stability. He added that if youths have to give up to go up, then they have to give up even more to stay up.
As he applauds the global and African Leadership commitment in developing and harmonizing legal and policy framework for affirmative action for youth development , he recommends a firm approach in the implementation of such policies to the best interest of visible progress on youth.
” jobs creation for the youth cannot be achieved by giving them the tools, but providing them with the required skills to match the job market, with the skills, the youth would secure the tools, but without the skills , the youth would sell the tools ” Mr. Bangura opined.
He closed with his normal way of inspiring and motivating them with his life sentence “I want to add value to youths who will multiply value to others” most youth simply accept their lives – they don’t lead them. Some people will summarize the life of the Youth in a single sentence, so I urge you to pick it now as he waved good bye to the audience.
BMB NETWORK
