A five-member delegation, led by the deputy Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Youth, Sports and Religious Affairs, Mambanyick Njie, recently returned to the country after attending an International Camp in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Speaking to Youth Forum at his Independence Stadium office yesterday, Pa Malick Ceesay, Executive Secretary of National Youth Council, NYC, said the theme of the forum was Dialogue for Pathway to Peace and was attended by participants from 31 countries from all over the world. The Gambian delegation, he said, include himself, Ida Cham from NAYAFS, Awa Jobe from NYC and Adama Sowe, a youth advocate.
He revealed that The Gambian delegation returned home with a medal and a certificate for their active participation, adding that the forum, the 38th of a series, was organized by the Egyptian Youth Council in collaboration with the Egyptian Government.

In another development, Abdoulie Faye, Program Officer of National Youth Council, reiterated his office’s readiness in implementing programs of best interest to the young people of the country.
In an exclusive interview with Youth Forum at his office yesterday, Mr. Faye outlined some of the programs that his office intends to organize for young people. Among them in few days to come, he revealed, would be a three-day training for young parliamentarians on Reproductive Health and gender issues. His office, he went on, will also organize a five-day youth camp for young people in the near future and that the camp would be organized in collaboration with National Association of Youths and Children Organization.
He added that towards the end of year, NYC would be holding a series of consultative meetings on the review of the National Youth Policy.

According to the NYC program officer, National Youth Council would be working closely with the Department of State for Health to provide counselors to be conducting Voluntary Counseling and Testing at Farafenni and Pakalinding youth centres respectively. He continued to state that NYC would also work with local authorities in the Central River Region to operationalize the Bansang youth centre.

Mr. Faye also revealed that they would also be conducting awareness creation on the burning issue of illegal migration, which, he asserted, is a menace facing our generation.