Ten thousand young people from across the six East African Community Partner States will next week gather at the EAC headquarters in Arusha and six capitals in the region to discuss issues pertinent to the regional development agenda.
The 23rd to 27th November, 2020 event dubbed the YouLead Summit, is East Africa’s flagship Youth Leadership Development Program seeking to unlock youth leadership potential for a prosperous region. It is hosted by the East African Community (EAC) and MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS TCDC) in Arusha, Tanzania.
The YouLead Summit 2020, themed Development is People: Youth at the centre of Peace and Development Agenda is a strapline of a speech by the founding father of Tanzania and a proponent of East African integration, the Late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who said, …’maendeleo ni watu … si vitu…’ which translates to development is people…not things.
YouLead Summit 2020 will bring together young leaders from various sectors, government officials, development practitioners and policy makers from across the East African region to engage in dialogue addressing issues pertinent to youth in the region.
The aim is also to shine a light on the experience of the East African youth who not only have to contend with the present challenges within their respective countries and beyond, but are also faced with the uncertainty presented in having to forge a way to create an ideal future for themselves and for generations to come.
Former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete is expected to grace the 2020 edition of the Summit which will for the first time go virtual in addition to the physical gathering at Arusha.
At the regional level, sessions will be held at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania as the central command center, with delegates, speakers and mentors, forming a limited physical audience under prevailing Covid-19 complaint standard operating procedures. The command center model will be replicated in the six EAC capitals in each country’s context. The various national level summit centers will be connected via a virtual platform.
In addition, key sessions will be telecast live on various radio, TV, and social media platforms of leading media partners in the region.
The vibrant platform will provide a platform for the old and young, experienced and novice, to meet, interact and discuss development issues without prejudice.
Thematic areas to be discussed during the Summit will address on re-inventing leadership for East African millennials; youth at the center of peacebuilding and conflict prevention; accelerating economic opportunities and decent work for youth; and young women mobilizing towards Goal 5 of Agenda 2030 (gender equity and women’s empowerment) and Aspiration 6 of Agenda 2063.
YouLead Summit 2020 will also feature an inter-generational dialogue on leadership, policies and results, as well the East African Youth Enterprise Award Ceremony, focused on recognising outstanding cross-border business ideas by young entrepreneurs. (End)