Bissalanca, 01 November 2023 - As part of the celebration of African Youth Day, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, through the Youth Institute, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and youth organisations, held the celebration of African Youth Day on 01 and 02 November.

The opening ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, flanked by the UNFPA Representative in Guinea-Bissau, the President of the Youth Institute and the President of the National Network of Youth Associations (RENAJ).

In his message, essentially addressed to the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, the President of RENAJ, Abulai Djaura, said it was necessary for the government to promote public policies in favour of Guinean youth.

In her speech at the opening of the ceremony, the Minister said: "It is unacceptable that even today young people are forced into irregular migration, losing their lives in the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to find a better life on a continent that is no richer in natural resources than ours," and concluded by saying: "the youth are an important vector for the stabilisation of the country and its development".

Under the slogan: "Youth in the face of the development response", the African Youth Day brings together around 150 young people, activities and leaders at national level, on the outskirts of Bissau, with the aim of strengthening the capacities of youth organisations in promoting development objectives, African integration and the consolidation of lasting peace in Guinea-Bissau.

In his speech, UNFPA representative Jocely Fenard said that "UNFPA defends the rights of young people and works to enable them to realise their potential. Girls, in particular, must be among the new generation of leaders who build a sustainable future," and went on to say that UNFPA will be looking forward to the resolutions and recommendations to be proposed by young people on issues related to their future.

During the two-day event, a conference will be held to present the African Union's Roadmap on harnessing the demographic dividend through investment in youth, and to discuss the Roadmap's pillars, key actions and expected results.

"We young people are the present and not the future," said Júlio Mamadu Camará, former president of the sports federation for the disabled, who took part in the two-day event. He went on to say that "there is a need to put into practice all our aspirations as young people, working in synergy in all our actions".

African Youth Day was instituted at the 7th Ordinary General Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, which established 1 November as African Youth Day.

Guinea-Bissau has signed up to several international instruments on the rights of children and youth: the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the African Youth Charter.

With the organisation of the African Youth Day, it is hoped that solutions will be found to the current challenges facing Guinea-Bissau's youth, in order to define their prospects.