Summit: FG creates youths’ forum for insightful engagements

By Franca Ofili

Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Sunday Dare, says Nigeria has keyed into the Commonwealth Youth Students’ Summit, African Region 2023, to create a forum for insightful engagements of youths in the country.

Date stated this in a statement issued by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mohammed Manga, on Monday in Abuja.

He said that Nigeria’s acceptance to host the summit was sequel to the request by the youth to create a forum for insightful engagements.

According to him, it will be a forum where youths and students can learn from global leaders in multi-national public and private organizations.

The minister said that the summit, with the theme: ‘Co-Creating Our Common Future: Leadership in the Digital Age in Africa,” could not be more appropriate than now, as everyone now lived in a digital world.

“It will help to position the young people from across Africa to promote their impacts in the regional youth discourse and dialogues,” he said.

Dare said that the present and future success of the commonwealth as well as upholding its values were dependent on the unwavering commitments and contributions of the students and the youth.

“The young people constitute more than half of the commonwealth’s population, which is estimated at 1.5 billion.

“Nigeria is glad to host the summit, as it provides a window of opportunities for the youth to explore their talents,” he said.

Dare further stated that youth delegates from across the world had started arriving Abuja for the summit.

“The Federal Government, through my ministry, has finalised arrangements to receive delegates from 21 African countries for this year’s summit, holding from May 8 to May 12,” he said.

The minister said that the summit would create an avenue where crucial conversations about strengthening and promoting the leadership capacity of youth and student leaders in the commonwealth would be initiated.

According to him, the summit will also advance with actionable outcomes and a prime focus on the roles which students and youth leaders could and should play.

He commended the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for approving the hosting of the summit by Nigeria.

Dare called on the youth to take advantage of the summit to develop themselves, in line with digital global realities.

(NAN)