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CYP ‘Investing in Youth’: Post-conference Press Release

14 September 2007

On 10 September 2007, the Commonwealth Secretariat was host to 170 young entrepreneurs, business leaders, lawyers and policy-makers who came together for discussions on the theme of “Investing in Youth”

The conference was a unique opportunity for delegates and speakers to share best practices and learn from some of the most successful young names in business.

The conference was opened by Deputy Secretary-General Mrs Florence Mugasha, and the steel magnate Lord Paul of Marylebone. HRH, The Prince of Wales addressed the conference in a video message. He has been closely involved in youth affairs and business through his charity, the Prince’s Trust.

Later, the Secretary-General Don McKinnon used the occasion to launch a new framework for Commonwealth cooperation on youth affairs, the Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (PAYE). This sets the agenda for youth development until 2015. He was joined by the Secretary-General of La Francophonie, and former Senegalese President, Abdou Diouf.

Addressing the conference, Mr McKinnon said: “Two hundred million young people worldwide live on less than a dollar day, 130 million are illiterate, 90 million are unemployed. And for those who are healthy and who are schooled – then the ‘second grade’ challenges set in: those of sexual health, of making a living, and of taking an active part in a society that embraces them whatever their fortune, their colour or their creed.”

“We take an asset-based approach to youth issues. Because young people are assets not liabilities, and because in the years leading up to 2015 they constitute a new generation of unprecedented size. Our prosperity, and the stability of our societies, depends on the life-chances of these young people.”

Three panel discussions were held on the issues of integrating youth in the economy, skills building and financing for youth enterprise. The audience joined in with lively question and answer sessions.

Ravi Gehlot, a 24 year-old self-made millionaire from the UK described how his interest in business started at the age of 15, when he set up a disco at his local Scout’s Hall. Now, he is CEO of OneOffice, a virtual online office company which provides a useful and cost-friendly tool for young entrepreneurs who can’t afford the overheads of office rental or spare the time needed to tend to correspondence. In his concluding remarks Ravi said, “People don’t plan to fail in terms of their business, they fail to plan.”

David Ssegawa a young entrepreneur from Uganda, and winner of the Faidika Na BBC (Prosper with the BBC) competition shared his experience of starting up a company to manufacture candles locally.

In their closing Declaration, participants called for investment in enterprise skills in addition to formal education, with a view to prepare students for the world of work. They highlighted a need for investment in healthcare, alongside greater access to credit and agreement on fair trade and debt relief to enable serious inroads into unemployment in the developing world.

It read: “We welcome today’s launch of the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment 2007-2015, agreeing that young people have the right to participate in the decision-making that affects their lives….We affirm that to invest in young people is to invest in political stability, peace and democracy”.

Asked what she will take away from the conference, one participant responded that she gained “a completely different perspective on self-employment; that it is relevant, ‘do-able’ and a way to benefit society. I also made good contacts for the future”.

Click on link below to view the final Conference minutes:

Investing in Youth - Conference Minutes