PUBLIC DIALOGUE AT UCU

       Public Dialogue on the Role of Youth in National Transformation

LET THE YOUNG CHANGE UGANDA

Uganda has one of the largest populations of young people with 21.3% between 18-30 years according to the UBOS Statistical Abstract for 2010. The youthful population increases to 55.7% when you take the age category 6-30 years. The centrality of the youth in Uganda’s development therefore should be treated as a priority because our demographic trends characterized by a very young and youthful population.  According to the study on youths and unemployment in Africa, 83.3% of the Ugandan youth are unemployed and 93.8% of these are living on less than two dollars per day. This makes our youth one of the poorest in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa[1] and has greatly contributed to the high dependency ratio of 1:1.17, the highest in Africa.

The youths have been treated as a special interest group and have political representation at different levels in local councils, local governments and in the national parliament. However, their representation sometimes has no clear and direct agendas that reflect the needs of young people to integrate in national dialogues and debate.The need to recognize the potential and allow for the fulfillment of young people’s potentials as active players in the transformation of the country. It is true that our society can make real progress if it has an enlightened, informed and engaged youth prepared to build a brighter future.

On Friday 23^rd March 2012 Centre for Constitutional Governance and ActionAid Uganda will host a dialogue and launch a national programme on youth rights and obligations: “The role of the Youth in National Transformation”

The Guest speaker will be Bishop Dr. Zac Niringiye.

The overall goal is to promote highly intellectual and ideologically grounded discourse through debate and other mechanisms that encourage exchange of ideas in institutions of learning and the bigger society.

At the dialogue, the GARUGA Declaration made by the section of young leaders declaring/calling for ‘Love for uganda and humanity’ as the cornerstone to development and national transformation will be launched.

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[1]World Bank Survey-Based Harmonized Indicators Program (SHIP).