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Deputy Secretary-General To Visit Youth Projects In Africa

15 July 2004

Effective training in youth development and human rights will help young Commonwealth citizens in Africa and beyond to meet the challenges of the globalised world, says Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Florence Mugasha.

Youth Project, CYP Africa
"Young people in Africa are confronted by a range of socio-economic barriers that can prevent them from realising their full potential and goals in life"

Speaking ahead of her trip to Africa, from 19 to 26 July 2004, Mrs Mugasha noted that the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) Africa Centre in Lusaka, Zambia, has done valuable work for young people. The Deputy Secretary-General said it is an important contribution towards helping communities and nations to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and to further the democracy and development agendas of the Commonwealth.   

On 19 July, Mrs Mugasha will open an Africa Regional Workshop on Youth Work Education and Training, in Lusaka, which includes a session on human rights. It will bring together representatives from universities, tertiary institutions, government departments and youth development agencies from Commonwealth Africa. 

The workshop will review and evaluate the delivery of the CYP Diploma in Youth in Development in the region. It will also focus on training Diploma tutors in this distance learning programme, as well as coaching policy-makers and partner organisations in human rights, by stressing the importance of incorporating human rights in development work in the Commonwealth. 

"Young people in Africa are confronted by a range of socio-economic barriers that can prevent them from realising their full potential and goals in life. The workshop aims to devise strategies that will provide solutions to these issues through effective training in youth development with a focus on human rights, professionalising youth work and constructive collaboration among stakeholders," said Mrs Mugasha. 

Since 1999, the Africa Centre has been implementing the CYP Diploma in Youth in Development, which is offered via distance learning in 12 African countries, in collaboration with ten universities and two training institutions. Since its initiation, the Centre has enrolled more than a thousand youth workers. 

While in Lusaka, the Deputy Secretary-General will also officially open the CYP Africa Centre's Technology Empowerment Centre (TEC) on 20 July. The TEC has been developed through financial support from the Government of Cyprus. It is designed to provide information and communications technology (ICT) skills for young people.  

"ICT plays a crucial role in all aspects of our lives and in socio-economic development as a whole. For today's young Africans, like their peers elsewhere, losing out on ICT skills means being marginalised by the digital divide and losing out on opportunities to achieve their goals in life. Greater collaboration is needed between governments, international organisations, civil society and young citizens themselves in order to bridge the digital divide in an effective and universal way," said Mrs Mugasha.

 

CNIS -    the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 192   14 July 2004

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