By Alhagie Babou Jallow
Basse will host this year’s National Youth Conference and Festival, Nayconf officials announced yesterday.
The event, which is the 12th edition, will run from the 15th to 22 December, 2017.
The theme for this year’s edition ‘New Gambia: Challenges and Opportunities for youth’.
According to official sources, some D6M will be needed to stage the 10-day conference and festival for over 2,000 young people expected to attend.
In his inaugural speech, the minister of youth and sports Henry Gomez, said the new government is committed to empowering and developing the youth sector.
“My Ministry through the satellite agencies will continue to devise ways and means of encouraging young people to excel in all spheres of national economic activity.
I encourage all young Gambians to take advantage of the opportunities provided by Government and partners to meaningfully contribute to sustainable national development,” minster Gomez added. He said since the Basse Nayconf 2017 will be the first in the New Gambia, all must work harder to make it a successful and memorable Nayconf.
He congratulated the NOC, UN, NGOs, and multilateral and bilateral agencies supporting his ministry. “We count on you to continue to support youth through Nayconf 2017 implementation and post Nayconf activities,” ‘he said.
Lamin Darboe, executive director of the National Youth Council, said NAYCONF is a biennial event, which is meant to bring young people from all over the country and beyond to share their experience and dilate on issues that affect their lives. “It originates from the Youth Week which dated back to the First Republic.
Its activities were mainly focused on sporting as a way of showcasing young people’s talents before its transition in the Second Republic to include a conference component hence the evolution of the new name “National Youth Conference and Festival” (NAYCONF).
