By Ramatoulie Jawo
The 13th edition of the National Youth Conference and Festival (NAYCONF 2022) will be hosted by Banjul from 15-23 December 2022.
Speaking at a press conference, The Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Bakery Y. Badjie assured Gambians of his government’s continuous effort to working with the National Organising Committee to ensure that the 2022 NaYCONF becomes a very successful one.
“And our intention is not just to make it successful, but to make a special one, and the reason is, today those who are holding executive role in different regions were all once participants of NaYCONF. So, we do not have an excuse to not make it a special one because I myself was once a participant,” he said.
He said that beyond the NaYCONF, there are a lot more expected because they don’t just want it to be an event, but an event that comes out with good resolutions whose outcomes individual and institutions can follow and be able to implement and change the status of the young.
Deputy Mayor of Banjul, Omar Touray said NaYCONF is a national event, which they are happy to host, expressing the Major’s concern about youth matter.
“It’s a very important event because it produces lot of talent and it brings young people together,” he said.
The Executive Director, National Youth Council (NYC), Alagie Jarju said the objective of the event is to create a platform for youth voices to ensure their active participation in national development, as well as showcases their talents.
He said that the theme for this year’s event would be centred on the role of young people in the maintenance of peace and security and the socio-economic development of the country.
“The conference is expected to be interactive and participatory, so as to build consensus on quality actionable programmes and projects across the ten thematic areas that we will be discussing during the conference,” he disclosed.
The NYC ED said the thematic areas would help recommend policy directives that would help to inform decisions as far as inclusive youth development is concerned.
Jarju said with the ten thematic areas identified for discussion at this year’s youth convergence, it is hoped that the better days that the youth have been anticipating for inclusive youth development is achievable in no distant future.
NAYCONF is a biennial event managed and coordinated by the National Youth Council under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, meant to bring together up to 2000 young people across all regions of the country and beyond, to share experiences and deliberate on issues that affect their lives.
It is considered the biggest gathering of the country’s youth with an average of about over 1000 participants.