A media release issued by the Youth Employment Network (YEN) Gambia Chapter has said that they would not participate in the much publicised 5th Global Youth Employment Summit, which will begin in Sweden tomorrow.
According to the release, signed by Mr. Nfamara Jawneh, the YEN Communications and Advocacy Officer, on behalf of the country coordinating team, this is due to the recent closure of the Swedish embassy in Dakar and the unavailability of adequate resources.
"It's rather unfortunate that the country would not be represented at the summit, due to the closure of the Swedish embassy in Dakar and limitation of resources."
The Gambia is among over one hundred countries across the world to be invited by the organisers of the 5th Global Youth Employment Summit, to be held from 2-5 June 2010 in Leskand, Sweden.
"The organisers have suggested for us to go to Nigeria or Kenya for them to issue us a Swedish visa, but this was not possible, hence we do not have the funds to do so, considering the distance.
"As a country team, we are left with no other option but to cancel the whole trip, despite the fact that some of our delegates have already bought their tickets," he stated.
Meanwhile, the network in their release thanked all those who have in one way or the other supported them, including the media just to ensure their participation. They also recognised the efforts of their development partners and the National Youth Council. "It's an unfortunate situation missing a great opportunity to market our proposal, aimed at creating more employment opportunities for young people."
This summit under the theme 'Rework the World' seeks to address the global youth unemployment crises from a system perspective.
With the confluence of the global ecological, social and economic crises, getting young people into employment will not be enough. We also need to rethink economic growth and develop the new programmes and business models for sustainable prosperity. In short, we need not only work; we need to rework.
The event will bring together 2000 participants from across the world and from all sectors of society with the aim of developing new collaborative ventures that can be scaled to create the needed change.
It could be recalled that the previous youth employment summits were held in Egypt, Kenya, Azerbaijan and Mexico.
Despite missing the summit this year, YEN Gambia remains committed to the global cause as a member of the YES family and continues with its advocacy for the plight of unemployed youths, while recognising the efforts of the government in addressing the issue.
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