LOYOC, stakeholders seek meaningful youth participation, collaboration in promoting YPS in Cameroon

By Ngombet Claudia

In a bid to work towards the development and effective implementation of a National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security in Cameroon, Local Youth Corner Cameroon (LOYOC) and partners, organized a four-day “National Stakeholders workshop on Youth, Peace and Security in Cameroon”.

The four-day workshop, jointly organized by esteemed organizations, such as the Réseau des Parlementaires Esperance Jeunesse (REJE), the National Commission on Youth Peace and Security, GIZ-AU, African Union, UNFPA, with support from the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Cameroon National Youth Council, and LOYOC; aimed at promoting meaningful participation and collaboration among young people, the legislature, members of the Youth Peace and Security Commission, and other development stakeholders.

During the four-day event, stakeholders from various sectors, including government officials, youth representatives, civil society organizations, and international partners, came together to address the critical issue of youth peace and security in Cameroon.

“The commitment we’ve had from the National Assembly is a show of Cameroon’s interest to advance this agenda [YPS]” a representative of the African Union, and Executive President of LOYOC  Christian Acha Leke said, adding that;

“The ministry of youth and civic education highlighted the interests of the government to advance this process till the end, and the end means that we will have more young people who are building peace”.

Some of the main activities of the four days included an advocacy and sensitization workshop on YPS with 15 Parliamentarians, to ensure a comprehensive appreciation of YPS in the Cameroon context, with the view of developing and implementing a National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security (NAP-YPS); capacity-building of 20 YPS Commission members on the various YPS normative frameworks at the international, continental and regional levels; as well as a two-day training of trainers (ToT) of 30 young peacebuilders from the 10 regions of Cameroon.

These stakeholders engaged in an inter-generational dialogue to develop strategies and policies that would foster the active involvement of youths in peace and security matters in the country.

In the same vein, the Assistant Secretary General at the Cameroon National Youth Council (CNYC), Dave Mamenene said that “the workshop was important to sensitize the different stakeholders, especially the youth on the UNSC Resolution 2250, to urge their active participation in all decision making processes towards conflict prevention and the promotion of social cohesion”.

The workshop’s outcomes included a comprehensive set of recommendations and action points that will guide future initiatives related to youth peace and security in Cameroon.