PRESS RELEASE African Youth ICT & NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) Conference on course
WINDHOEK, Namibia, July 31, 2003 - The African Youth ICT & NEPAD Conference, to be held here from 11-14th August, has been soft-launched by the National Youth Council of Namibia and the World Assembly of Youth. More than 200 delegates from national youth councils and youth organisation from Africa and the diaspora have registered for the event, which promises to be the biggest African youth event in recent years. The Prime Minister of Namibia, H.E. Theo-Ben Gurirab, former president of the United Nations, will officially open the conference on August 11th. The agenda includes several pertinent issues related to information and communication technologies in Africa as well as the New Plan for Africa's Development. Speaking at the soft-launch of the conference, the Namibian Minister of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation Hon. Nahas Angula said that Africa has been left behind in the ICT revolution. He hailed this conference as a means to bridge the digital divide in Africa, and to make the youth in Africa more ICT-savvy. Hon. Angula is also the Patron of the Conference. The Secretary General of the World Assembly of Youth, Donald Charumbira, said that the conference will play a critical role in uniting Africa's youth towards a common development agenda, which could be catalysed by information and communication technology. "It is time for Africa's youth to unite to achieve the visionary goals laid down in the New Plan for Africa's Development. Information and Communication technology can assist the continent to leap-frog the development process and achieve more rapid development. It is the youth, who are the future of the continent, that need to spearhead Africa's ICT revolution," Charumbira said. Charumbira also called for national youth councils to be included in governmental delegations to the World Summit on the Information Society to be held in Geneva in December this year. The Secretary General of the National Youth Council of Namibia, Pohamba Shifeta, said that the advent of modern information and communication technologies hold unprecedented opportunities for young people. "Information and communication technologies provide opportunities for Africa and its young people to achieve rapid economic, social and political progress. We hope that the African Youth ICT & Nepad conference will be the beginning of a serious effort by Africa's youth to be at the forefront of developments in ICTs," he said. On August 12, the conference will mark International Youth Day and the World Assembly of Youth will issue a statement on this day about the situation of youth worldwide and the situation of youth representation at the United Nations. Registrations for the conference are closing tomorrow, and further information may be obtained from [EMAIL PROTECTED] ISSUED BY: WORLD ASSEMBLY OF YOUTH & NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL, NAMIBIA ANY QUERIES TO: MALEACHI ILONGA [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
