The Global Reset Forum is organized by the World Youth Summit NPC in partnership with the Embassy of Djibouti in Turkey. This 3-day forum is designed to be a platform for youth from across the Globe to critically analyze and review the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN agenda 2030. The event galvanized countries that have made total progress towards achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Sierra Leone which has scored 51.69% and ranked 148 out of 165, ahead of Nigeria, Angola and Liberia etc.
Because of Sierra Leone’s performance towards achieving the SDGs, the country was invited to be part of today’s panel discussion in Turkey on the topic: “What is the situation of youth in the labour market and how do we eradicate child labour”. The country is represented by the dynamic Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs, Luseni Kallon and David Joe Francis (a youth ambassador who served as one of the panelists in the panel discussion).
Addressing the topic, the Deputy Youth Minister started by stating that the 17 SDGs aimed to address poverty, reduced inequality, and protect the planet by 2030. In achieving the vision, the Deputy Minister said young people are the engine and the main agent that are full of energy in resilience to make an impact in their various countries. “As young people constitute the greater portion of Sierra Leone’s population, that is why the Government of Sierra Leone has prioritized the Human Capacity Development in achieving these goals, which include Free Quality Education, Mechanization of Agriculture, and Free Health Care. These form the largest portion in the sustainable development goals” he stated.
Deputy Minister Kallon added that “Young people are the greater resource of any country and they are the agent for change and development. Based on this backdrop, he therefore stated that “it is prudent for global investment in young people by empowering them to make and produce to contribute to national development”. In cataloging Sierra Leone’s efforts in youth investment, he highlighted strives made by the youth ministry through the Youth in Agriculture and Fisheries projects with cardinal objective to reduce hunger and ensure food security in the country, the National Youth Service Corps, National Innovation and Digitalization Strategy of which youths are the greater beneficiaries. He went further to state that the Government structure provides large number of young people as councilors, MPs, and cabinet members which according to him, shows that young people are placed at the centre stage of development in Sierra Leone. He ended by calling on all youths to speak with one voice and to be truthful to their country.
