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CYF

Youth Forum Communiqué

28 November 2007

Youth delegates reaffirm their commitment to serve as partners in development in their closing recommendations

The sixth Commonwealth Youth Forum came to a close in Entebbe, Uganda, on 21 November 2007 with young people calling for their right to “serve as partners in development”.

In a communiqué issued after the closing ceremony, youth delegates called for: the meaningful participation of marginalised groups, especially those with disability in the development process; the development of effective national youth councils; as well as greater participation of young people in national and global decision-making through structural change in the governance of international organisations.

Other commitments in the communiqué calls on the Commonwealth and member states to adopt technologies and development processes geared towards fighting poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation and financial support to youth policies in line with the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment launched by the Commonwealth Youth Programme in September 2007.

The communiqué noted that young people make up half the Commonwealth population but do not share the same level of economic, political and social power as other demographies and that a failure to harness young people as a positive resource or invest in their development “would be to miss an immense opportunity”.

The Commonwealth Youth Forum took place from 14-21 November at the Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe. This was the sixth meeting of the forum and the tenth anniversary of CYF which began in Edinburgh, UK in 1997.

It brought together over 150 people between the ages of 18-25 from 45 Commonwealth member countries and territories to discuss issues affecting young people and make recommendations to address these issues.

Delegates held discussions under the theme of ‘Breaking Barriers: Unleashing Young People’s Potential for Development’ and discussions were guided by three sub-themes, Conflict Management and Social Transformation, Sustainable Development and Climate Change and Young People and Health.

The Youth Forum was the first in a series of official Commonwealth summit in the lead up to the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which took place from 23 to 25 November 2007. The CYF communiqué was presented to the Heads of Government Meeting.

The next Commonwealth Youth Forum is to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009.

The youth forum was organised by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in partnership with the Uganda National Youth Council, with technical advice and logistical support from the Commonwealth Youth Programme and the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council making this the “most successful Commonwealth Youth Forum to date”.

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