28 Feb 2017

The ‘Voice Africa’s Future campaign on February 24 kicked off another round of its tours in the second city of Francistown, in a series of tours targeting some of the country’s biggest towns and cities.

The campaign, Voice Africa’s Future, is a platform for the youth to amplify their voices and inform policy and decision making, that puts the youth first.

The campaign is running in 10 other countries like South Africa, Zambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and is led by Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA).

The campaign held at the Tati River Lodge in Francistown brought together young people from different backgrounds to spend the day together and discuss ways in which they can be part of a prosperous and economically empowered Africa of the future.

The topic that was at the centre of the weekend campaign discussions and others before it was Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In her presentation on SDGs, one of the Voice Africa’s Future champions at YALDA, Ms Thandi Majama explained that Sustainable Developments Goals were development agendas put in place by more than 192 countries that were members of the United Nations.

The goals, she stated, had been developed to replace the phased-out Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and were to be achieved by 2030.

Furthermore, she noted that there were 17 SDGs agreed upon by all United Nations member countries to realise and that each goal had a target.

“The importance of the SDGs is to keep the planet safe and prosperous enough for the future generations.

In Botswana, it is equally important as well to try and achieve each goals set target.

Botswana has chosen four goals which are good health and well-being, quality education, economic growth and decent work and peace, justice and strong institutions.

Our country’s four chosen goals are also in line with the National Vision 2036 and the eleventh National Development Plan 11 (NDP 11),” Ms Majama said.

Another of the campaign’s champion, Ms Olerato Keegope highlighted that YALDA’s involvement in the campaign started in 2013 through a partnership with an organisation called African Monitor based in Cape Town, South Africa, who are spearheading the campaign to teach young people across the 10 selected countries about the global goals for sustainable development.

Locally, Ms Keegope said, YALDA was highly active in implementing some of their action plans which were in line with helping Botswana achieve its SDGs.

Some of the action plans included collecting, analysing data to establish baselines and encouraging the youth to engage in national SDGs monitoring forums with their stakeholders such as BIDPA, United Nations, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Botswana Statistics office among others.

YALDA is an international organisation of African youth who want to make positive impact on the African continent.

It is registered as an NGO in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda and it is recognised by the United Nations. ENDS