“Towards Parliamentary Action for Integration of Children and Youth in East African Societies”

The Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) and the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) hosted the regional MDG Seminar “Towards Parliamentary Action for Integration of Children and Youth in East African Societies” on 27th to 28th April 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya as part of the SIDA-funded MDG Programme. The seminar facilitated an open discussion about the current state of youth related-policies in the region as far as education and employment are concerned One of the major challenges in East Africa today is certainly the role of the youth in fast-changing societies. While forming a majority of the population and increasingly so, the youth are usually feeling marginalized from the decision-making process. They are often neither given the opportunity to directly participate in it nor are they even consulted on matters relating to their everyday life. This constitutes a significance contradiction in terms of representation that EALA intended to address through this Regional MDG Seminar and subsequent decisions and actions The youth are not only passive but also active agents of their current condition, which they could have firmer grip on should an improved social environment offering youth more education and Job opportunities. EALA members can therefore significantly contribute to the integration or reintegration of youth into society ,eventually enabling them to lay a sound basis for their adult life. Against this background, the seminar focused on the contribution of EALA to these two critical challenges for East Africa, Education and Employment, while discussing the establishment of a structured framework for youth consultation and participation. The Seminar was officially opened by the EALA Speaker Hon. A. Abdi after brief remarks from Mr. Zwelethu Lukhanyiso Madasa, Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament-, Hon. Sere Saran Sereme, Deputy Speaker, ECOWAS-, Hon. Holger Gustafsson, Sweden, Political Coordinator and AWEPA Member while Participants included Members of the Pan-African Parliament, ECOWAS, SADC Parliamentary Forum, European MPs, Speakers from UNICEF, ILO and Mr. Richard N. Muteti , Director of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and Chief Executive of the MSE Sector Federation in Kenya, who gave a presentation on the “Perspectives on Youth Empowerment from the EAC Region and best Practices from Regional Parliamentary Bodies’’