Like other nations, no one can imagine a Cameroonian nation without its young people. Cameroonian leadership is aware of the primordial place of youths in the country especially as future leaders. Because of the importance of youths in the nation, the government has initiated a National Youth Day in Cameroon. The Youth Day celebration is a forum for exchange and dialogue, whereby young people deliberate on a national scale about their problems and together propose ways to overcome them. The recommendations from the sessions are then usually channeled to respective authorities.
Young people across the 10 regions of the country therefore celebrate this day in several and various ways. Each youth day celebration has a thematic focus and this year celebration’s was themed “Youth, Patriotism and the Promotion of National Integration”. It is the 48th edition and it is happening when Cameroonians are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of their independence and reunification and working towards real national integration. Aside these events, the country is also working hard for its emergence by 2035. Cameroon wishes to leave the stage of underdevelopment to the stage of emergence by the year 2035. In the midst of all these, youths have a central role to play. The important roles young people can play in the emergence and sustainable development of the country is also acknowledged by the international community and international development partners especially present in the country.
As a matter of fact, a National Youth Conference was organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education under the main theme “Youth, Leadership and Sustainable development” on Saturday 8th February, 2014 at Amphitheatre 250 of the Institute of International Relations of Cameroon (IRIC), Yaounde, Cameroon. To facilitate exchanges during the conference, three sub-themes were retained for the event notably: Education for sustainable development, youth entrepreneurship for sustainable development and young girls, technology and sustainable development.
Prior to the event, an essay competition was organised to stimulate young people’s thoughts across the country to reflect and present their views on either of the sub-themes of the event. The winner of this essay competition organised by WWF and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education was Ms. Ongbile Yoko Nadege. Furthermore, it is important to note that this National Youth Conference remains remarkable in the history for Cameroonian youths as it was the first ever where young people from all sector of the society and from all the ten (10) regions of the country were present in the conference. Also, the aspect of gender was keenly taken into consideration in the selection of participants as 50% of youths present at the conference were ladies.
Moreover, the conference which had more than 200 youths in attendance was a room for young people to discuss and exchange with government authorities and the international community as well as other relevant stakeholders on how they (the youths) can be integrated into the developmental process in the country especially in a sustainable manner. It was also a chance for Cameroonian youths to present the challenges they face in their various attempts to contribute to the sustainable emergence of the country and what can be done to overcome those challenges.
The event was concluded with the submission that for Cameroon and Cameroonians to commonly achieve Vision 2035 and for sustainable development of the nation; there should be in-depth collaboration between all stakeholders and partners of development in the country. Young people have a primordial role as they are already doing a lot to promote sustainable development in the country but much is still to be done in the area of youth development to enable Cameroonian youths effectively and efficiently contribute to the sustainable development of their country.
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Nadege Yoko
Nadege Yoko is a youth worker, advocate of peace and good governance. She holds a BSc Degree in Political Science and Law from the University of Buea, Cameroun and is currently awaiting her MSc Degree in Political Science specialized in International Relations. Ms. Yoko has about 5 years experience in the research and development sector and has served as research assistant for several developmental projects in Cameroon for University lecturers and international organizations like the German International Cooperation, GIZ and the European Union. She has 3 years working experience in the civil society sector, with a focus youth development issues.
Ms. Yoko is also a DYLP alumnus and panelist; a leadership course offered by the Commonwealth Youth Program, Africa region. She is also a DESPLAY fellow – a youth academy on democracy and good governance organised by Youngstars Foundation, Nigeria and Season 8 President of the Academy. Ms. Yoko is a peer motivator and mentor. She is a positive addict of the traditional and social media and hosts radio talks on social media and the promotion of good governance in her community. She likes discovering new places and spends quality time alone or with her friends during her spare time. You can follow her @Yokogracy
