The Youth Connekt Gambia intends to create one hundred thousand (100,000) jobs by 2025, the Focal Person Basiru Jaye, disclosed as the Organising Committee met to review the ‘Concept Document’, ahead of National Youth Council’s hosting of the 2022 Youth Connekt Summit.
The Summit, inter alia, aims to initiate policy dialogue, program harmonization and partnership to achieve the Goals of Youth Conneckt Africa in the Gambia. It also aims for the implementation of National Development Plan, AU Agenda 2063, National Youth Policy 2019 – 2028 and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Inspire and galvanizes support for YouthConnekt activities in the Gambia, and takes a critical look at the ways of harnessing talents for economic development.
“It’s intended to tackle unemployment through the creation of 100,000 jobs by 2025, create 250,000 opportunities through relevant education, training and enrolment in workplaces, identify, nurture and grow 10,000 leaders that provide solutions, participate in advocacy, and become role models in their communities,” according to Jaye, who’s also Programme Officer for ICT and Innovation at NYC.
He said the 2022 Summit is expected to gather 200 youths across the country and beyond, and that the Council is determined to making sure that the Gambian youth are engaged in a positive manner, and “the Youth Connekt will serve this purpose”.
Launched in 2012 by the Government of Rwanda and UNDP, the Youth Connekt Model, as per the official version, has been embraced for its innovative design and implementation, through Policy harmonization, Programs and Partnership. It’s also said to have provided African youth with the skills, networks and information needed to scale their initiatives and gain meaningful employment.
The YouthConnekt Gambia was successful launched in October 2018, and this year’s Summit, funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) through UNDP, is scheduled take place from 7-9 June 2022 at Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre in Biilo. It will take a special look at the economic transformation of The Gambia, hence the theme “Harnessing Talents for Economic Transformation”.
