Youth and Spors minister Bakary Badjie was among delegates from across the Commonwealth attending the 13th Commonwealth Youth Forum CYF which ended in Apia, Samoai yesterday under the theme: ‘Navigating our Course and Building Resilience for a Common Future’
The CYF reinforces young people’s involvement across the Commonwealth in devising solutions to complex global challenges and also provides an opportunity for young people of the Commonwealth to build cross-cultural connections and networks, as well as a platform to deliberate on youth-led initiatives addressing issues impacting the 1.5 billion young people in Commonwealth countries.
In the last two days, participants strategised on perspectives and present meaningful recommendations to leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The Forum also featured plenary discussions and action planning breakout sessions, centered around CHOGM’s themes.
The 2024 CYF is particularly significant as it marks the culmination of the Commonwealth Year of Youth and the 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Youth Programme in 2023. The theme reflects the ambitions of its new generation of leaders advocating for an inclusive Commonwealth.
The planning and agenda creation for the CYF is managed by a youth-led International Task Force in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), and the Government of Samoa.
