Pak-Afghan youth session held in Quetta

  • September 22, 2016, 7:27 pm
  • Breaking News
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Pak-Afghan youth session held in Quetta
Quetta, Sept 22 (APP): UNHCR with partners organized a one-day seminar on youth empowerment to enhance the capacity of Pakistani and Afghan youths in Balochistan by engaging them in dialogues with the key stakeholders to identify challenges youths are facing and to seek solutions towards self-reliance.
Over 100 participants from different districts of Balochistan attended the seminar including over 30 women. The event was also attended by social activists, civil society and youth working groups.
The seminar discussed the importance of the empowerment of youth as a tool to promote change, engage young leaders in a dialogue with key stakeholders and promote partnership and create a joint team in Balochistan to tackle these issues moving forward.
Speaking at the session, Speaker Balochistan Assembly, Ms. Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani said: “Education and youth empowerment serve as the perfect impetus to energize the young people. We need to excite young minds, let’s make our youth empowered with education and skills.”
Recognizing the important roles of youth in nation building, she said: “Youth need a voice and a platform to share their opinions and experiences, while enhancing their capabilities and competences in their chosen fields.”
A brief presentation was given by the UNHCR officers explaining the participants its youth related activities in Balochistan. They said that under UNHCR programmes youth groups in the refugee villages have been fully engaged in multi-sectorial community committees to strengthen the coordination mechanism and to build capacities that will further lead to active participation in decision making.
Head of UNCHR Quetta Office, Dinesh Shrestha said: “Youth play an important role in bringing peace and sustainable development in the region. This will only be possible if they are given opportunities and the right environment, enabled with skills and knowledge, guided with values to work together beyond the narrow confines of national borders. This seminar is a first step towards achieving those goals where both Pakistani and Afghan youths can come together to discuss their common interests and opinions, and prepare to become the agents of change in the society.”
APP/mas