Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
YOUNG people have called for greater collaboration among youth organisations and urged their peers to take a more proactive role in shaping policies and the national development agenda.
The call emerged from the Youth Collective Action for Social Transformation (YCA4SoTra) National Youth Indaba held in Harare, where young people from different provinces and backgrounds discussed issues affecting them and made recommendations to relevant authorities.
Matobo Youth Development Initiative representative Mr Decent Ndowe, from Matobo District in Matabeleland South, said the indaba provided young people with an opportunity to engage on issues affecting them and contribute to policy discussions.
Mr Ndowe said there was a need for young people to move from being reactive to becoming proactive participants in national development.
“My key takeaway is that we managed to give recommendations to relevant authorities,” Mr Ndowe said.
“We were hoping that they were going to use the deliberations from young people from different backgrounds where we were trying to ensure that the policies align with the Constitution and prioritise the development of young people.”
Mr Ndowe said young people should also take the lead in setting the narrative on issues affecting their communities and the country.
“The whole idea was to ensure that we create proactive young people. This is a way of ensuring that young people also set the narrative rather than responding to issues that have already been raised by older people,” he said.
He said the indaba also allowed young people to exchange ideas and perspectives, helping participants to learn from each other and gain a broader understanding of issues affecting their communities.
Another participant from Mashonaland East, Mr Richard Ngoma, said the indaba has demonstrated the importance of giving young people a platform to directly contribute to discussions on policies and programmes that affect their lives.
“One of my key takeaways is that young people should not wait for decisions to be made for them,” he said.
“We need to participate in policy discussions and make sure that our voices are heard because the decisions being made today affect our future.”
He said young people should also use such platforms to engage decision-makers and ensure that their concerns are reflected in national development plans.
Another participant from Manicaland, Mr Cain Makuyana, said the gathering has highlighted the need for young people to take advantage of available empowerment opportunities while also working together to address challenges affecting their communities.
“What I am taking away from this indaba is that we need to move from talking to action,” he said.
“We have discussed many challenges affecting young people, but the next step is for us to take the recommendations from this platform and implement them in our communities.”
Mr Makuyana said young people should also work together and support one another in driving development initiatives.
SAYWHAT representative and 2026 National Coordination for its Youth Founding Board member Miss Tashinga Madzima said youth organisations should work together in implementing programmes aimed at empowering young people.
Miss Madzima said organisations involved in climate action, youth empowerment and other initiatives should avoid working in isolation.
“My key takeaway is that youth organisations or organisations that are working towards developing the youth in one way or another, through climate action or youth empowerment initiatives, should come together to best implement the work that they are aiming for,” she said.
Miss Madzima said collaboration should not be undermined by competition for funding and other resources, adding that organisations could achieve more by working together.
She also said the indaba has exposed her to various funding opportunities available to young people through the Ministry of Youth.
However, Miss Madzima said there was a need for increased publicity of such programmes to ensure that more young people were aware of and could access the available opportunities.
