The government has called for stronger collaboration and investment in youth-led community projects as a way of accelerating economic growth and sustainable development across Malawi.
Speaking during the CorpsAfrica Pitch Day, Minister of Youth and Sports Alfred Gangata said youth development initiatives must be coordinated and aligned to national priorities to produce meaningful results.
Gangata said the government is committed to improving coordination and financing youth innovation, urging development partners to view youth ideas as a new way of doing business capable of transforming communities and strengthening the country’s economy.
Director of Technical Services in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Malawi, Dina Gumulira, said government programmes are guided by the National Youth Policy, which promotes youth participation in development initiatives.
Gumulira said the policy, reviewed about three years ago, emphasizes the importance of involving young people in programmes that affect their lives and future.
“When we talk about youth participation, we are talking about youth as active participants in issues that concern them. There is nothing that we can do about the youth without involving the youth,” she said.