Parliament of Uganda is set to host a landmark Fourth Commonwealth Youth Parliament Summit from 14 to 19 March, 2018.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, said that the Conference will expose the youth to the realities of legislation and governance at regional level.
“When you expose the youth to all levels of engagements in leadership at an early age, they learn to respect the rules and play within them and this is the beginning of stability and order,” said Oulanyah.
Oulanyah made the remarks while meeting a delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa Region) on Thursday, 14 March 2018.
Oulanyah noted the importance of nurturing the youth into leadership, saying that such conferences provide the much needed platforms.
Elijah Okupa (FDC, Kasilo County), who is also the Treasurer of the CPA (Uganda), said that the youth will hold a plenary session in the Parliamentary Chambers and thereafter, make resolutions.
He said that majority of the youth who will participate will be between the ages of 11-22 years, in accordance with the Commonwealth definition of a youth.
“Uganda will be represented by 25 youths selected from all regions of the country, while other countries will each select two representatives; male and female,” said Okupa.
Demetrus Stephen Mgalami, the Assistant Regional Secretary at the CPA (Africa Region) said that the resolutions from the Youth Conference will inform the agenda of the regional conference to be held in Botswana in August, 2018.
He said that the resolutions will be presented by the Speaker and Deputy Speaker elected during the Youth Conference.
“These resolutions will be heard and debated by over 300 Members of Parliament across Africa sitting in Botswana who will make recommendations,” said Mgalami.
He appealed to governments to ensure that the resolutions made are implemented, saying that they reflect the needs of the people and impact on their development.
The Commonwealth Youth Parliament Conference will be held under the theme; “Securing a better future for Africa: Role of the youth”. The topics to be discussed include; youth unemployment, alcoholism and drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. Other topics are; harnessing the youth in leadership and the youth and social media.
The conference is expected to attract over 200 delegates from all the commonwealth countries.
