This year’s celebration was held under the theme “Deciding our future together: the NYC we want.’
Established by an Act of parliament in 2000, NYC is a public agency mandated to mobilise, coordinate, register and supervise youth organization as well as implement national youth programmes, thus advising government on policies and all youth related matters in the country.
Since its establishment, NYC has been advocating to bring its secretariat closer to young people and all other stakeholders to encourage ownership, address multiple question and concerns of its constitution on its mandate and how its affairs should be managed independently by the young people themselves.
Addressing the gathering, Dembo Kambi, outgoing chairman NYC, said that the appointment of the minister of youth and sport is the best appointment of the present government, acknowledging that ‘if the youth work with the new minister’ NYC will get to the promised Land it wants.
Kambi recalled that in 2015 and 2016, the council was reviewing its act, which he said, was supposed to be presented at the National Assembly.
‘But unfortunately, the election came through and it was never presented at the parliament.”
The bill, he added, needs to be reviewed so that it will represent the youth of this country.
For his part, Bakary Y. Badjie, Minister of Youth and Sports, said that despite the efforts by young people to take youth work forward including sports and music industry, why are ‘we not able to register a lot of successes?
“We should ask ourselves what is responsible for not achieving a lot of successes and what can we all do together to be able to change the situation to make things better” he quizzed.
However, in the recent past some youth leaders and stakeholders view NYC as not all-inclusive and perceived to be directly linked to the government with limited civil society votes and participating in its day-to-day affairs.
