President Danny Faure attended the official ceremony to commemorate International Youth Day at the STC Conference room yesterday evening, celebrated annually around the world on 12 August.
International Youth Day provides an opportunity to celebrate and mainstream young peoples’ voices, actions and initiatives, as well as enhance their engagement. Held under the theme ‘Youth Engagement for Global Action’, International Youth Day this year put the spotlight on the engagement of young people at local, national and global levels and their meaningful contributions to address challenges like the COVID-19 outbreak and climate change.
“I am inspired every day by this socially conscious generation who despite the challenges they face, have not been deterred and continue to make their voices heard. They are unafraid to speak up, doing a lot of volunteer work with NGOs and using social media as powerful advocacy tools. We often say that young people are the leaders of tomorrow, but I have always believed that young people are the leaders of today,” said President Faure, addressing the young people present at the event.
He commended them for making use of every opportunity to move forward in their career and self-development, saying that he hopes they continue to inspire their peers and never give up. President Faure also spoke about how young people are particularly vulnerable to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He discussed some of the measures that government has put in place to safeguard them, including employment placement services and psychosocial support.
In her message for the occasion, the Designated Minister, also the Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture, highlighted the specific emphasis of this year’s theme focusing on the word “engagement” and how the word encompasses other concepts such as motivation, participation, obligation, and collaboration among others.
“Here in Seychelles, we recognise that over the years, our youths have been given a lot of opportunities through various avenues, including through the Government, NGOs and international organizations such as CONFEJES, the Commonwealth and the United Nations. Last year we launched a revised National Youth Policy which represents our commitment to the Seychellois youth and our government's commitment to our youth’s well-being and prosperity,” said Minister Mondon. “It is as a result of these opportunities and resources that our young people have gained a wealth of knowledge, technical skills, and leadership skills. We ensure that our young citizens have good skills to actively engage at different levels of society,” she added.
During the event, there was also information about the Youth Festival 2020 to be held under the theme, ‘Loportinite’ from the 21st to 28th August. The annual youth festival, a flagship activity of the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) calendar, will take place on a smaller scale at competitive and educational levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ceremony included a series of vibrant musical and dance performances by youths from various districts as well as poem recitals. There were also testimonies from young people representing a range of sectors in society including entrepreneurship, farming, IT and beauty, who benefitted under the SNYC scheme and shared their experiences and words of aspiration to the other young people present.
Also present for the ceremony this morning was the Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports, Mr Fabian Palmyre, Special Advisor for Youth and Sports, Mr Kevin Vidot, CEO of SNYC, Mrs Penny Belmont, Deputy CEO of SNYC, Ms Ghislaine Belmont, members of the Board of SNYC, and other distinguished guests and youths from different districts.