The forum, which was held at Wassu, was meant among others to bring young people within the district under one umbrella with a view to discussing some of the issues affecting them and chart the way forward.
Speaking at the meeting, Ebrima P. Bah, the District Youth Chairperson, expressed delight in hosting the first edition of Niani youth convergence. He thanked his committee members for their dedication and commitment towards youth development in the district.
The youth convergence, Bah said, is funded by the district youth committee of Niani. He urged the participants to take the program seriously and make best use of the knowledge gained during the course of the convergence.
Dam Sallah, who was speaking on the significance of the forum, said: “This gathering is not a mere activity just for fun. However, the forum is to enable us to discuss issues that are related to nation building and the development of young people within the area.”
The theme of the meeting, he added is ‘equipping youth with skills and ethical leadership’. “As young people of this country, we should also be job creators rather than job seekers due to the fact that not everyone can be employed by the government.”
During the day-long convergence, the participants were exposed to entrepreneurial skills, ethical leadership and other areas that are geared towards the development of young people, adding: “After the training, we will also embark on tree planting exercise with the objective of restoring the lost forest cover and also to mitigate the impact of climate change.”
Serign Tunkara, Youth Representative at the Kuntaur Area Council (KAC) thanked the district youth committee for coming out with such initiative, saying: “The importance of skills training for young people can’t be over emphasised as it helps them to become self employed and independent.”
He urged young people of the area to desist from embarking onirregular migration, saying: “This dangerous route has caused a lot of damage among the youths in the country. Equally, it is important that we desist from illicit drugs, especially kush which is causing a lot of destruction among young people.”
The KAC, he revealed, has approvedthe construction of a youth centre for the young people of CRR North, claiming: “The Regional youth committee has already been tasked to identify a place where this youth centre will be built.”
Abdoulie Jawara, the regional youth chairperson for CRR, thanked the Niani District youth committee for coming up with such an initiative, while urging other youth committees in the region to emulate the young people of CRR North.
