While opening of the east africa youth leadership summit in Arusha, the former president of Tanzania Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete calls East African young leaders and youth to effectively achieve EAC integration, by overcoming national beliefs.
This summit Summit brings together about 10,000 participants, with others via online participation, will take a whole week, from Monday 23rd to Friday 27th November 2020.
For Dr Kikwete, a Senior Citizen of the region, young leaders under under 40 years of age, the fate and future of the integration process rest to the East African young leaders and youth.
According to him, the integration process has encountered problems in terms of growing nationalism. āAt the stage of Common Market which is supposed to allow factors of production that is labour, capital and services to move freely within the region, Sentiments and strong emotions about āour jobsā, āour landā, āour marketā have been observed across the region. More so is expected when we approach Monetary Union where will hear more of āour currencyā. And if we succeed to overcome that, we will surely meet with the noises about āour sovereigntyā, āour flagā and āour hard-won independenceā.
The findings of the East Africa Youth Survey Report, has shown that there is a strong sense of nationalism among East African youths. The study found that, only 5 percent of youths in East Africa identified themselves as East African.
āBut these have not been very successful in overcoming the role of human nature in the integration process. This remain a leadership puzzle of all times, a puzzle which you, the young leaders must attempt to unpuzzleā, Kikwete added.
Leadership in hands of youth
While addressing youth, Kikwete says, āYou need to rise to the occasion. The region is calling upon you to seize the moment and show leadership. Mind you, I mean leadership in all fronts beyond politics. Leadership in business sector, sports, arts, name it. It is leadership that will change the fortune of this region. From the leadership scholarship, two things are expected of the leaders.
First, the utility of a leadership is to help solve unfamiliar problems. And second, leadership is expected to chat out the new path, open new possibilities and introduce, and manage change. Leaders are expected to guide followers to make sense and attach meaning to things and ideas which otherwise followers are not able to comprehend or identify with. Leaders help to navigate the present, build imagination and help to envision and making sense of the futureā.
The theme of summit, :āDevelopment is People ā Youth at the Center of the Peace and Development Agendaā , comes from the wise words of our political father Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
The EAC Secretary General, Liberant Mfumukeko, also urges young leaders to use the summitās opportunity to advocate for space in determining development agenda right from the grass roots.
The YouLead Summit 2020 (The 23rd to 27th November) brings together young leaders from various sectors, government officials, development practitioners and policy makers from across the East African region to engage in dialogue addressing issues pertinent to youth in the region.
The aim is also to shine a light on the experience of the East African youth who not only have to contend with the present challenges within their respective countries and beyond, but are also faced with the uncertainty presented in having to forge a way to create an ideal future for themselves and for generations to come.
