The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is set to host its first-ever National Youth Conference in Nigeria to drive dialogue on national development.
The confab is scheduled to hold from Tuesday, October 12 to Thursday, October 15, at the Velodrome, Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Nkechi Obi, the conference coordinator during a media briefing recently said the confab themed, ‘Energising the youth for development: Inclusiveness, governance, security, and employment is made possible by the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The conference is a platform for Nigerian youth to dialogue with the government on way to move the country forward. President Buhari has promised to be at the youth conference, to declare it open, and to abide by the resolutions reached by the conference,” she said.
Gbemi Olorunpomi, head of, media committee of the National Youth Conference explained that the conference is also meant to achieve the fullness of inclusiveness for the nation’s youth because it is clear that a deep and concise conversation is necessary with young men and women who are entrusted with the country’s future.
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“The first of its kind youth conference will discuss the diverse and urgent issues confronting the youth and tugging at the very heart of the nation, The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Governors and Ministers are expected to participate in some of the sessions. The conference is a hybrid of physical and virtual meetings,” he said.
About 370 youth delegates drawn from the 36 states of the federation that are meant to reflect gender disparities, physically disadvantaged, diverse educational levels, and professions are expected to physically participate, while a record of 6,000 youth has already registered to participate online. Besides, over 10,000 youth are expected to hook up and participate in the conference virtually.
Olorunpomi stressed that in addition to the registered participants, 100 National Youth Service Corp members from Abuja will be expected to join the conference majorly as volunteers.
The organisers disclosed that there will be five thematic areas that will form the nucleus of the discussions. Each thematic area will be made up of a plenary session and four breakout sessions.
According to Obi the registration data reveals interesting details on gender and topic preferences. 83.2 percent of those that have registered are male, while only 16.8 percent are females. 62.3 percent of the expected participants are between the ages of 18 and 30, while 36.2 percent are between 31 and 40 years.
Of the five topics to be discussed, 41 percent of the youth showed interest in issues of education and youth development. Another 40 percent indicated an interest in politics and nation-building, while 35.7 percent chose to participate in discussions centred on peace and security. Technology and innovation were picked by 34.6 percent of the intended participants, and 23.6 percent said they want to participate in the discussions around sports, entertainment, and creative industries.
Semkem Nkem, the 2017 youngest best fashion designer in Nigeria and the best designer at the African fashion week, who is also one of the ambassadors of the National Youth Conference (NYC) said she identified with the confab because she believes Nigerian youth have a lot to contribute to moving the country forward.
“I believe the Nigerian government can make a difference by engaging youth. Youth of this country have ideas that move the country forward,” she stated.
Another ambassador of the NYC, who simply identified himself as Elozonam said “Youth are an extremely powerful force in Nigeria that have what it takes to move the country progressively forward.”
