EZULWINI – The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs today celebrated International Youth Day with the country’s young people by launching the Eswatini National Youth Policy. Speaking at the launch, Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs encouraged young people to take initiative and work with the older generation towards creating a better livelihood for the country’s future. Harries Bulunga has urged young people and older generations to work together towards creating an Eswatini for all ages.
The commemoration of International Youth Day was under the theme “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for all ages.”
Speaking at the launch, Minister Bulunga highlighted that, “This Operational Plan will now allow us to translate paper to action by taking the aspirations of the 2020 National Youth Policy to be tangible youth development work on the ground, in a systematic way.”
The National Youth Policy Operational Plan was presented by Director of Youth Affairs Bheki Thwala during the launch. The policy outlines the steps to be taken at different levels of Government departments, youth organisations, and the constituents in all parts of the country. He said that, ” I urge all young people to pay attention to this Operational Plan. This is the plan which we will run with as we attend to all issues of young people as governments and different institutions”.
“This year’s theme calls all of us to work together in breaking barriers that prevent collaboration between generations. There is much we can achieve in Eswatini when we bring together the drive and innovativeness of our young people together with the wisdom and experience of our older generations.”
“This will allow us to approach issues holistically, with a wider, all-inclusive view, ensuring that our interventions cover both the short & long term and further leave no one behind. I therefore challenge everyone in this room to make it their mission to break down the barriers that stifle collaboration across generations in Eswatini, including ageism,” added Minister Bulunga.
Minister Bulunga’s words were echoed by Youth Representative Sphile Ndlangamandla, who noted that, “We need to understand older people and they should understand us as well. We need to meet at one point which is morality. Let us also play our part as young people in developing our country. We also need to learn to be accountable as young people.”
UNFPA Officer-In-Charge Sipho Dlamini was also present to represent UNFPA “Solidarity across generations is key for sustainable development. We must collaborate to foster successful and equitable intergenerational relations and partnerships to ensure ‘no one is left behind.’ If we fail to work together we will fail to achieve our common goal.”
The event exemplified an intergenerational mode of youth development, as panelists consisted of young people from all four regions, as well as senior citizens. This resulted in an engaging exchange of ideas, principles, and opportunities for improving the livelihoods of all Emaswati.
