NEWS | YOUTHS | VISION

By Lawrence Nachipo

Time is now ripe for African youths to rise up and command their various developmental endeavours.”

That is the message participants from a newly formulated youth mobilisation organisation, Agenda 2063 preached during its launch in Lilongwe recently.

Agenda 2063, a brain child of African Union Youth Commission’s theme, “The Africa We Want”, is a grouping that is on a drive to having a new Malawi in which the youths are going to be given all the keys to hold decision-making positions without hindrance from the older generation.

According to the grouping’s chairperson, Kondwani Mwendo, it is high time youths started walking the talk by taking active roles in decision making positions. He said it is the active youths who can actively develop a better and more developed Africa come 2063 (in reference to AYUC’s goals).

“The future is now! Let’s rise up and start reconstructing a new Africa that we all need cometh 2063. It begins with us, the youths,” he challenged.

From his observation, most African countries, Malawi inclusive, have been developmentally backward as the youths were (are) not taken as active actors in matters that affect them. According to him, leaving out the youths, the main beneficiaries of most developmental projects is shooting oneself on the foot.

“We want the youth to realize that the future cannot change if they don’t participate in trying to tackle the different problems our society is having. We want the youths to develop a spirit of inclusiveness, participation and involvement in creating ‘the Africa we want,” Mwendo challenged.

Currently, the grouping has over 200 volunteers who shall be going to all corners of the country preaching the full gospel of this initiative.

Minus the African Union Youth Commission, Agenda 2063 is already in partnership with various organization such as YEFORD in promoting a similar call.