Speaking at the closing ceremony, Muhammed Jallow of PAG said the main objective of the event was to engage youths and people working with young people across the world in gainful activities and issues that directly or indirectly impact on their lives.
He revealed that over 85 participants from 19 organisations took part in a 10-day summer school focused on four thematic classes, gender-based violence, entrepreneurship development, money laundering and terrorist financing and peace and conflict
“For there to be lasting peace in Africa requires general commitment of all and therefore it is high time we minimise talking and do more actions as PAG has already started,” Jallow said.
He said this summer camp was “the most challenging” organised by PAG because it was the first held outside The Gambia with critics saying gathering 85 participants in such a conflict zone was too risky and a recipe for disaster.
But Jallow said there could not have a better place for the 8th IYSS than Ziguinchor because friendship is not just about sympathising but empathising with one another. “No country can boast of being peaceful when its immediate neighbour is not at peace. This event is meant not only to provide an opportunity for participants to choose a career or improve their status but greatly improve performances and instill new hopes in participants on issues that will enhance their lives,” he asserted.
Henry Ndecky, coordinator of Dynamic Peace organisation in the Casamance urged the participants to be law-abiding and live by the tenets of peaceful co-existence.
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