Monrovia – The Young Political Leadership School Africa (YPLS Africa) has announced that it will host its first regional youth summit from March 23-25, 2022, in Freetown, Sierra Leone under the theme: Advancing Electoral Integrity for Political Accountability and Leadership in the Mano River Union region.
According to a release, the summit will assemble 75 young leaders in politics and civil society from Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and the Gambia, for the purpose of learning, sharing, collaborating, growing their networks, and dialoguing on mitigating electoral violence, fostering electoral integrity and political accountability for national development, peace, and security across the region.
The release noted that Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone is expected to deliver the keynote address at the opening session. Other speakers will include the Ambassadors of the United States of America to Sierra Leone, the British High Commission, Ireland, the Secretary-General of the Mano River Union, the Head of the Elections Division at ECOWAS Commission and the Head – Policy Influencing and Advocacy Unit at the West Africa Civil Society Institute among others.
The YPLS Africa was created in 2016 in response to poor leadership, bad governance, and the exclusion of the youth from political and other decision-making processes across the African continent.
According to NAYMOTE, the program is unique in Africa and puts Africa’s youth in the spotlight.
“Its overarching goal is to contribute to the formation of a new generation of socially conscious, character-driven young political leaders who are accessible, responsive, and accountable to the African people. A total of 730 young African leaders have benefitted from the program.”
Meanwhile, NAYMOTE thanked the Vice President of Sierra Leone for the ‘enormous’ contribution and support towards hosting this summit in Sierra Leone.
In the release, NAYMOTE said: “His excellent and inspiring address to young people from across West Africa made an indelible impression on the minds of participants at the program marking the eight cohort of the YPLS Africa in October 2021 in Liberia. We also acknowledge the Honorable Vice President of the Republic of Liberia for her contribution toward the participation of some Liberian delegates at the Summit.”
The Young Political Leadership School Africa, an initiative of NAYMOTE Partners for Democratic Development – a leading civil society institution working to advance the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance across Africa has been funded by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa.