The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is set to host the first ever National Youth Conference in Nigeria from Tuesday, 12 October, to Thursday, 15 October 2021 at the Velodrome -youth city of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The conference, which was made possible by the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, is premised on the realization that Nigeria needs her Youth not only to be supported and developed, but to understand the dimensions of political developments, grasp national issues and consciously place themselves in a position of co-builders.
The Ministry explained that the conference is also to achieve the fullness of inclusiveness for the nation’s youth, it is also clear that a deep and concise conversation is necessary with the young men and women we believe will be entrusted with our nation’s future; a conversation away from the adult dominated national conferences that have hitherto been the norm. The youth conference is therefore a desired platform to discuss the diverse and urgent issues confronting our youth and establish them as the future of this country.
The first of its kind youth conference will discuss the diverse and urgent issues confronting the youth and tugging at the very heart of the nation. The main objective of the conference will be to explore the critical issues in the agitations/calls for more inclusive youth policies to create the structure and system for youths to participate and thrive regardless of the sector they choose to play in – politics, governance, tech, and creatives.
The conference is a hybrid of physical and virtual meeting and the Theme is based on Energizing the Youth for Development: Inclusiveness, Governance, Security and Employment.
It is expected to host over 370 youth delegates as participants from all the states in the country chosen to reflect gender disparities, physically disadvantaged, diverse educational levels and profession. In addition, over 10,000 youth are expected to hook up and participate in the conference virtually
Five (5) Thematic Areas have been identified and will form the nucleus of the conversations at the Conference. Each Thematic Area will be made up of a Plenary session and Four (4) Breakout sessions.
The Thematic Areas are: Politics and Nation Building – Youth in the Political space for nation building and development; Education and Youth Development – Education for Employment, Job Creation, Economic contribution and Personal Development; Peace, Unity & Security – Peace and Security in community and national development; Innovation & Technology – ICT and Innovation for wealth creation and empowerment; and Soft Power – Sports, Entertainment & Creatives as platforms for positive image projection and empowerment.
