KIGALI - The third ordinary session of the conference of the African Union (AU) on youth, that sat in Zimbabwe recently elected Rwanda to the chair the Conference of Ministers in Charge of Youth (COMMYIII) for the next two years.

The Minister of Youth, Protais Mitali, attributed Rwanda’s election to its initiative in developing and implementing the African Youth Charter.

"Rwanda is among the few countries in Africa, with a well-established youth council that emphasises the need to ensure that young people are educated, in order to enable them to carry forward the development process,” he said

"The country has mobilized efforts that are meant for devising and implementing policies and programs specifically intended for the youth and which are integrated in all sectors”.

He added that the Rwanda was recognised for its good leadership that has led to her development within the past 16 years.

"During our term of office, we shall make sure that the AU commission and member states continue efforts to popularize and implement the charter,” he noted.

Mitali explained that the seat will motivate the Rwandan youth to harness new strategies and tools to have their voices heard at the continental level.

Among the various recommendations of the meeting and also being one of the mandates of the chair, is to ensure that AU member states that have not signed and or ratified the charter to do so urgently.

The forum commended the United Nations for adopting 2010 as the international year of youth under the theme "Dialogue and mutual understanding.”

During the meeting AU member states were urged to harmonise their national youth program and projects with the plan of action for the decade 2009-2018 and commended efforts towards the revitalisation of the Pan African Youth union.

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