The Ministry of Youths and Civic Education together with United Councils and Cities of Cameroon have signed a partnership agreement to involve Youths in the growth and development within local councils.
The partnership agreement signed on May 19, 2021 in Yaounde went ahead to solidify the full participation of Youths, spearheading development in the nation and make municipalities levers of growth and engines of development.
According to MINJEC, Mounouna Foutsou, Minister of Youth and Civic Education, the field of local development offers as many perspectives for civic and civic education of populations, for the promotion of peace and living together, and for supervision and youth participation.
Areas where the maximum participation of Youths are needed have been earmarked; the civic education of the population; the promotion of peace, living together and national integration within municipalities; citizen participation of young people, youth organizations and movements in local development actions; promotion of volunteering; the social and economic integration of young people; the fight against social evils and pandemics; the integration of the youth approach in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals; the involvement of young people, especially young girls, in local development actions; promoting the digital economy and technological innovation among young people; the promotion and capitalization of sustainable partnerships in favor of young people at local, national and international level.
As a guardian of youth policies, MINJEC is committed to providing UCCC with technical support in the implementation of its activities to promote civic education and national integration; collaborate with the UCCC and its members for the implementation of projects.
Mobilize young people and their organizations with a view to defining, implementing and monitoring activities carried out by municipalities in the fields covered by the agreement; finally, to provide UCCC and its members with technical assistance for the establishment and conduct of activities.
The United Councils and Cities of Cameroon which brings together all municipalities, undertakes to ensure among its members, awareness and popularization of initiatives led by MINJEC in favor of populations in general and youth in particular.
To provide support to MINJEC within the framework of the Civic Education and National Integration Campaign; sensitize the municipalities on the need to make available to MINJEC, data on the activities of the youth sector carried out within the municipalities; raise awareness among members and support their activities within municipalities.
Encourage municipalities to welcome, supervise and provide multifaceted support to young people within the framework of activities falling within the scope of this convention; contribute to the development of didactic and methodological tools relating to the capacity building of local actors in areas falling within the scope of the convention.
Focus of the partnership is on the Youth Municipal Councils, the installation of which of the Yaoundé 2 district municipality is an illustration of this.
Setting up a bureau in Yaoundé to comprise of 7 young people, as authorities provided a copy of the national anthem in French and English, in order to reinforce their patriotic fervor.
The Youth Municipal Councils are a laboratory for social inclusion, intergenerational dialogue and even the learning of democratic practices.
By Ndefru Melanie
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