Youth in Buea urged to uphold moral values, professionalism.

The symposium was on the theme: “Next level professionalism”. It had as aim to help young people navigate their way through life, deviate from juvenile delinquency, and prioritise service to God.

The National President of JCT, Princewill Mua, pointed out that ‘Awake 2024’, just like the name suggests, seeks to revive the dying professional spirit among young people, as well as raise awareness on certain aspects of professionalism that they continue to neglect.

He added that through panel discussions, these young people were injected with new innovative skills needed to survive in the modern world and help them be different.

“These days, professionalism is just a word, and young people don’t care about being professionals. They take a lot of work-related things for granted and it affects their efficiency and output. We are trying to change that for them,” Mua said. 

During this annual event, the young people were drilled on topics such as emotional intelligence in the work place, the power of praise and worship, merits of communication and digitalisation, CV writing and preparing for job interviews, among others.

The organiser of the symposium, Marks Abaiko, on his part, explained that Jubilee for Professionals brought together alumni of JCT to educate and empower university students and young professionals on life in and out of school.

“We organised this to encourage young people in university, especially Christians, to remain steadfast and not be carried away by negative peer pressure which can drive them into prostitution, cybercrime and other vices. We motivated them to work hard and smart as it will lead them to sustainable success,” Abaiko told the press. 

Abaiko also expressed satisfaction with the turnout of over 100 young people to the symposium, highlighting the fact that JCT has been doing a good job over the years.

“I am impressed with the number of people who decided to join us this year to learn and transform their lives. We believe we are gaining momentum and more and more, young people are aligning with our vision to have a society free of juvenile delinquents,” Abaiko concluded.

Enter speakers

One of the panel speakers, Sahfua Asamaou, said her presentation had as aim to change the narrative young people have that there are no jobs in the country.

“I encouraged these young people that with the right attitude and skills, they can get jobs on merit. They are also negligent and don’t take time to do certain things. This has a huge impact in their performances at school and at work. I also explained to them key issues in job search,” Asamaou said.

On her part, youth and women empowerment advocate, Eliot Etonde, edified the students and young professionals on emotional intelligence, which deals with recognising, managing and responding to personal emotions and the emotions of others.

“I also trained them on how to manage stress and conflict, to help them become better team players and leaders,” Etonde said.

Participants react 

The participants, who were mostly university students and young professionals, expressed contentment with all they learned, notably how to cope in the society, putting humanity first and being one another’s keeper.

“I got here with a different mindset and now I can say I am leaving more enriched and equipped with skills that will help me sail through school without any worries as well as succeed in the professional world. Most importantly, we were told to be upright citizens and uphold moral values because that is the only way through which we will succeed in life,” said university student, Arrey Raphael.

He added that he also acquired some basic soft skills to help him grow in school and the professional world like emotional intelligence, self-confidence and determination.

On her part, university student, Jordyn Ngwa, said she is not returning the same as she has cultivated skills needed for emotional intelligence notably empathy and self-awareness, which are basic skills need to survive in today’s society. 

She noted with the hope that more of such symposiums get to be organised in Buea and across the national territory.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3143 of Wednesday June 19, 2024