Develop youth to ensure success of SDGs – Chambas

The special representative of the UN Secretary General in West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has said the overall success of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) depends on youth motivation and engagement.

Dr. Ibin Chambas said this when he spoke on Wednesday at the inaugural UPSA Annual Leadership Lecture in Accra, organized by the University.

He said the youth have to be critical thinkers, and be able question the world around them, while also being able to identify existing challenges, power structures and barriers, to be able to expose contradictions and biases.

He also noted that, the youth must be change makers, stating that they should have the power to act and mobilize others, and do more to promote African culture.

“Young people have displayed remarkable talent and skill in developing and exposing African culture through the film and music industries, with far reaching influence. Today, Nollywood is the world’s second-largest cinematographic power in terms of the number of films since 2009, with a regular audience of an estimated at 150 million viewers,” he said.

“Also growing in the industry is Ghana and Kenya amongst others. Additionally, the African fashion industry is successfully promoting and cultivating African and African-inspired design talent on the continent and the world stage.”

Ibn Chambas,  a strong advocate of youth development, urged young Africans to be innovators and to proudly display their remarkable skills to the rest of the world.

According to him, when young people are empowered with the knowledge of their rights and supported to develop leadership skills, they can drive change in their communities and countries.

Ibn Chambas added that, the youth have to take the mantle into their own hands in creating the kind of Africa they want to live in by coming together and defining their own culture and value systems.

“The youths themselves must intentionally create a culture that encourages the building and shaping of the Africa that they want. The change they want begins with them coming together and developing their own culture and value system for thinking, planning, implementation, accountability, integrity, and collaboration. It is up to the African youth to step up shape the narrative of our continent, ” he said.

He also urged governments across the continent to engage youth from all walks of life on national issues in order to ensure their involvement in the quest to attain the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

“If countries are to succeed in achieving the SDGs, leaving no one behind along the way, governments must seek out an active and substantive engagement of young women and men from diverse backgrounds in national-level planning, implementation, and monitoring”

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By: Farida Yusif/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

The special representative of the UN Secretary General in West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has said the overall success of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) depends on youth motivation and engagement. Dr. Ibin Chambas said this when he spoke on Wednesday at the inaugural UPSA Annual Leadership Lecture in Accra, organized ... Read Full Story