Summit will drive youth expansion vision

TWO weeks before South Africa hosts the fourth BRICS Youth Summit, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) said the conference – which precedes the high-level 10th summit of the BRICS bloc – is an opportunity to ensure young people play a part in the mainstream economies.

“The BRICS Youth Summit presents us with an opportunity to further accelerate youth development in line with the National Development Plan Vision 2030, which articulates that the ICT will underpin the development of a dynamic and connected information society and a vibrant knowledge economy,” Sifiso Mtsweni, NYDA executive chairperson, said as he addressed media in Pretoria yesterday.

“Our government will establish a Fourth Industrial Revolution Commission to make recommendations on the immediate, medium, and longterm priorities and goals for society as a whole, especially for young people. Furthermore, as government continues to roll out the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting transmission, the NYDA is also seized with co-ordinating a national strategy for young people to ensure they benefit from such an opportunity.”

He said the BRICS Youth Summit, to be convened under the theme “Radical Economic Transformation – Making the New Development Bank Work for the Youth”, also “crafts a paradigm that is mutually beneficial to all five nations” by impacting on the lives of citizens.

“Young people must come out in numbers to exchange ideas with other delegates from other nations. The NYDA will continue to explore these mutually beneficial co-operation ties with all it’s partners to ensure that young people’s lives are transformed for the better,” said Mtsweni.

The youth summit takes place from July 15 –16 in Bela Bela, Limpopo. – African News Agency (ANA)