Cross River State will use the 32nd United Nations International Youth Day celebration to advance initiatives aimed at improving young people’s access to skills development, paid internships and participation in governance.
The Commissioner for Youth Development, Ijom Ukam, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Calabar, the state capital, ahead of the celebration.
Ukam said the initiatives were designed to advance the administration’s “People First” agenda.
According to him, this year’s theme, “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations: Advancing the People-First Agenda through Sustainable Youth Development,” reflects the shared aspirations of young people for employment, skills acquisition, access to finance, inclusion and meaningful participation in governance.
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He said, “It would not be a gathering merely to commemorate another date on the international calendar. We are using the occasion to reaffirm a fundamental principle of development: there can be no meaningful people-centred development without meaningful investment in young people.”
Sustainable Systems
The Commissioner said the state government was repositioning youth development beyond occasional empowerment programmes to sustainable systems that connect skills acquisition with enterprise creation and employment opportunities.
He noted that a key intervention programme of the Governor Bassey Otu administration called “Skills in the Hands” was designed to equip young people with practical and marketable skills, stating, “The philosophy behind this initiative is simple but profound.
“We must put practical skills in the hands of our young people and create pathways through which those skills can translate into livelihoods. Many young people are told that they need experience before they can secure employment, yet they cannot acquire that experience without being given an opportunity in the first place,” he stressed.
Ukam hinted that Cross River State was collaborating with development partners, including the United Nations Nigerian Jubilee Fellowship Programme, to provide structured internship opportunities and expose young people to professional work environments.
According to him, the International Youth Day celebration in the state will go beyond speeches and ceremonies to provide a platform for young people to showcase their talents, innovations, entrepreneurial ventures, creative works and contributions to community development.
Ukam called on the private sector, financial institutions, development partners, universities and civil society organisations to invest more in youth-focused programmes, internships, apprenticeships and youth-led enterprises, noting, “investing in young people is not charity. It is economic and social investment.”
Youth Development Framework
The Commissioner gave the assurance that the Ministry of Youth Development would continue to pursue an inclusive, skills-oriented, employment-focused, entrepreneurship-driven and participatory youth development framework across the state.
He urged young people to take advantage of available opportunities by acquiring skills, building networks, innovating and participating actively in their communities.
“Government will continue to create opportunities, but we also expect young people to embrace responsibility,” he stated.
Ukam added that the Cross River of tomorrow would not be built by government alone but through the collective efforts of all stakeholders.
