At 2nd edition of Cameroon Youth Conference: Minister urges youth to contribute in seeking solutions to national problems.

The conference which held virtually unfolded under the theme: "The role of Cameroonian youth in social economy, community development and the process of decentralisation in the new deal government for Cameroon’s emergence".

It was organised by the United Council for Youth Empowerment, UCYE, in collaboration with the Cameroon National Youth Council, CNYC, Cameroon Diaspora Youth Network, CDYN and the Cameroon Opportunities Industrialisation Center Int’l Buea.

The online conference was attended by several government officials, General Managers of public and private establishments, entrepreneurs, educationists and representatives of international organisations.

Minister Mounouna Foutsou told participants that Cameroonian youth, through their demographic weight, dynamism, and creativity, provide not only an opportunity but a challenge for Cameroon in the implementation of its policy of wealth creation and economic and social development. 

He said the government has spared no effort to provide its youth with all the support and accompaniment essential to its realisation and empowerment.

“The government is keen to involve youth in decision-making at the highest level…,” the minister said, before mentioning that the theme developed within the framework of this conference “thus finds all its weight in gold at a time when Cameroon is engaging in a new logic of decentralisation and governance”.

Mounouna Foutsou said it is crucial to develop the potential of young people to ensure their effective participation in local decision-making to build sustainable institutions. 

“Young people should contribute to finding solutions to national problems that affect them” he then urged stating that “the role of young people in promoting the social economy is a determining factor for local development,” he said. 

“…in the promotion of the social economy, young people must increasingly work for their empowerment and participation in the fight against poverty,” Mounouna Foutsou insisted.

He noted that: “Young people are an integral part of the social economy in a context marked by increasing youth unemployment rates and opportunities and promising professional opportunities in the social economy sector. It is essential to encourage young people to take an increasing interest in the social economy, as it is a significant lever for economic and social development”.

Enter Fabian Lyonga

Speaking earlier, the founder United Council for Youth Empowerment, UCYE, United States-based Cameroonian entrepreneur and politician, Fabian Lyonga, had described the role of young people as crucial to the development of the national economy. 

He said the conference which is in its 2^nd edition, is a response to the Head of State's call for the youth of the diaspora to return home and help in the development drive of the nation.

Fabian Lyonga, it should be said, returned to Cameroon in 2020 and created the Lyonga Institute of Science and Technology, LIST.

He later launched a Vocational and Primary School in Tiko and has since been granting several scholarships to the youth and children from different families affected by the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions.

Lyonga’s United Council for Youth Empowerment UCE, it should be said, is a global youth movement that gives hope to the underprivileged by nourishing young talent with positive actions toward leadership and development. 

The organisation is represented in the United States of America, USA, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, South Africa and Senegal.

The group has been highlighting the importance of government actions toward the socioeconomic and socio-political development of Cameroon.