ADF-V kicks off under youth theme

Addis Ababa, 16 November - Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi formally opened the fifth African Development Forum (ADF V) Thursday 16 November at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The theme of ADF V is Youth and Leadership for the 21st Century, and the conference is being attended by up to 600 young people from all over Africa.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations; Alpha Konare, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank; and chaired by Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, United Nations Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa.

The session burst into life with a rousing speech by Edwina Orowe, a young lady from Kenya, who started by berating the assembly for seating all the young people at the back of the hall, leaving prominent places in the front for the “elderly”.

Ms Orowe painted a picture of struggle facing Africa’s young people, and said many leaders did not even know what the typical day of an African youth was like. “Before the age of 15, most of us are already working, by the age of 19 more than half of girls already have babies”, she said.

She called on all participants to ensure that when the story of ADF V is written, it will say: “This is where the commitment to support youth in the 21st century began.”

In launching the African Youth charter, Konare assured the youth that the commitments contained there will not remain on paper alone. He called for a moment’s silence in honour of the African youth who perish in search of better lives overseas; and for those who reach their destination but perpetually scrape a living at the bottom of the economic pile.

Prime Minster Meles said the challenge facing young people is synonymous with the challenge facing the entire African continent. He said Africa is the only continent whose destiny is largely determined by others. He advised young people not to become despondent by this or to adopt a “victim” mentality, but instead to see what each one of them could do in order to change the prevailing situation.

In his keynote address, Secretary General Kofi Annan said the international environment had improved in recent times and development assistance was now about to break the US$100 billion barrier. He said that although many African countries were projected to miss the Millennium Development Goals, it was not too late to turn the situation around. He cautioned the youth that development is not a gift bestowed by one country to another, but achieved through hard work and enterprise of the country’s own people.

ADF V is scheduled to run from 16 – 18 November. Young people will debate several issues affecting them, including employment, health and education issues. At the end of the Forum, a consensus statement will be adopted for implementation by all African countries.