By: Nyima Sillah
National Organising Committee for the National Annual Youth Conference Festival (NAYCONF) slated for later December this year was Friday inaugurated.
The inauguration held in Senegambia brought together government officials, and members of the National Youth Council (NYC) among other youths under a theme, ‘The Role of Young People in the Maintenance of peace and security for socio-economic development of the country; challenges and opportunities.’
Representing the Executive Director of the NYC, Pa Malick Ceesay stated that the NAYCONF is an annual event meant to bring young people from all over the country together to share their experiences and discuss issues affecting their lives.
“The time has come for you to come to work on Saturday and Sundays, this is the time when everyone becomes an automatic worker without pay. This is done to have a very successful NAYCONF for the first time in the Third Republic. Nothing good comes easy and I am certain without a threat of uncertainty that the team of this kind we are already having our eyes on the price of NAYCONF which is a success,” he said.
He noted that organizing such events requires an open-door policy, with total consultation, patient and that they are dealing with young people, and they will be gathering 2000 delegates from all parts of the country and beyond.
The Deputy Mayor of Banjul, Omar Touray, highlighted the significance of the NAYCONF he said it is very important for youth and the hosting is long overdue for Banjul. “We are committed and we are ready to host” he assured the organiser.
“We have very competent people here who have experience on NAYCONF. This government believes that the youth are the future leaders of this country, not only by words but by practice. The Office of the President is ready to support you, so feel free to contact us whenever you are in trouble,” he told them.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Saikou Sanyang, added to previous speakers that the event would serve as a source of information and also a medium to discuss the problems affecting the youth and matters of common interest plus their roles in national development.
“It is important to note that NAYCONF is not for money making, but rather for the youth to converge and discuss serious national challenges relating to their development, which is a very important statement. Therefore, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has the conviction that with a hard-working, committed, and disciplined organizing committee, we will get to the end of the tunnel where there is light,” he said.