Remarks by UN Resident Coordinator Dr. Coumba Mar Gadio:2022 National Youth Day Indaba Opening Ceremony

•    Cabinet Ministers 

•    Permanent Secretaries

•    Senior Government Officials 

•    Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to the Republic of Zambia

•    Cooperating Partners

•    Members of the UN Country Team and UN Colleagues

•    Youth Delegates and Young People

•    Civil Society representatives 

•    The media 

•    Ladies and gentlemen 

There is no greater honour than joining this August Assembly including the Youth, gathered today for this National Youth Indaba held under the theme “Enhancing Youth Participation at all levels of National Development.” 

I would like to first commend the Government of the Republic of Zambia under the leadership of His Excellency, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, to have given this Annual Celebration, a special significance. Youth from across the country representing all 10 provinces of Zambia, in all their diversities, have been offered the unique opportunity to shape their destinies and the development of their country for many years to come. 

Youth importance to the development of Zambia cannot be overstated as they account for about 36% of the overall population and 55% of the nation labour force. In this Decade of Action where advancements made to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 have been compounded by the unprecedented global health pandemic of COVID-19, youth are expected to play an active role to help the country embark upon inclusive and sustainable development paths. 

Your Excellency, Distinguished guests

Today’s event is a great first step towards empowering the young people of Zambia by listening to them.  Building on its unique global mandate to serve the world’s peoples and its convening power to act as a partner and broker, the United Nations is encouraging the Government to institutionalize this multistakeholder forum by making it a place where young people feel protected enough to voice their needs and actively engage in the development of the country.  This is in line with the motto of our Youth Strategy themed “Youth 2030: Working with and for Young People”. This strategy was elaborated to support nations achieve peace, security, justice, climate resilience and sustainable development for all by advancing the rights of young people in all their diversities through engagement and participation in the review, implementation and monitoring of national development plans; hence, a substantive contribution to the attainment of the SDGs at country level. 

I have come here today to reaffirm the UN support to the Government of the Republic of Zambia to advance its national priority of enhancing youth participation that creates a transformational development impact for in-country SDG acceleration. 

Your Excellency,

To date, the UN has mobilized about 5 million Kwacha (263,468 United States Dollars) from nine (09) agencies, namely UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNHCR, WFP, FAO, ILO and IOM, to support the Government operationalize and implement its Youth Development Strategy roadmap. Indeed, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) acting as the Technical Lead for the United Nations Country Team, has been working closely with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Arts and other key Ministries and Sectors of the Government for the formulation of sustainable and inclusive policies, programmes, and initiatives for and by youth.  This comes in addition of several youth initiatives and projects that are implemented by UN agencies in several areas such as youth innovation, youth entrepreneurship, and promotion of youth-led businesses. For instance, the National Innovation Initiative, pioneered by UNDP Accelerator Labs in close partnership with the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) and the Patents and Companies Registrations Agency (PACRA), was launched for two consecutive years to identify local innovations with the highest potential impact. 

The United Nations also sponsored the High-Level delegation from the Government to attend the Youth Connekt Africa Summit in Accra, Ghana, where Senior Government Officials were able to interact with their counterparts and youth delegations from 23 African countries to appreciate best practices in SME development and exchange on how the Zambian Youth Entrepreneurs can take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.

These initiatives cannot be sustained without the establishment of multisectoral and participatory governance structures and coordination mechanisms. 

Furthermore, it is important to formulate programmes and initiatives that recognize the diversity of Youth Groups to ensure that No Youth  is Left Behind, regardless of who they are and where they live. 

 Your Excellency, Distinguished Guests,

The United Nations will continue supporting initiatives that promote youth empowerment and employment while targeting young women and youth with disabilities. This includes the support to the revision or update of policies, the development of programmes and initiatives and  support to mainstreaming youth issues in the 8th National Development Plan.  I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Your Excellency, on your government’s efforts to dedicate 10 percent of the Constituency Development Funds to youth programmes. Such initiatives are highly encouraged!

    I would like to end my remarks by this quote from Barack Obama:

 “With courage and purpose, with humility and with hope, with faith in the promise of tomorrow, let us march straightforward together”. Indeed, the Government forging a strong partnership with Young People, focusing on an ambitious and promising sustainable development, will lead to great advancements in the implementation of SDGs in Zambia by 2030. 

Thank you very much.