KIGALI - The Minister of Youth, Protais Mitali, has urged the youth in the Commonwealth to work towards achieving full cooperation for the betterment of the bloc.

While officiating at the 2010 Nkabom Commonwealth Youth Leadership Programme in Kigali yesterday, Mitali said the forum is a great opportunity for young people to explore and share experiences amongst themselves.

The programme brings together thirty two young people aged between 18 and 25 from the commonwealth for an interactive 10 day programme focussing on international understanding, peace building and conflict resolution skills.

The Nkabom Programme is a flagship project of the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), the oldest and largest NGO devoted to Commonwealth affairs. The word Nkabom (pronounced ink-a-bom) means ‘coming together’ in parts of Ghana where the program was first held in 2004.

"With good collaboration we are sure that tomorrow we shall have citizens who are well trained, informed and also who respect human rights,” he said.

"The more human rights are respected, the higher level of involvement and participation of youth in development programmes and the lesser violations ocur”.

According to RCS Youth Programmes Manager, Claire Anholt, Nkabom Programme brings together  a range of devoted young people and emerging leaders from different communities to exchange ideas and learn from one another.
"It is a good opportunity for the youth since it actively engages them in international issues, particularly conflict resolution,” she said.

"We are privileged to host the programme though our country is young in the Commonwealth society. I believe there is a lot our country has to offer and the participants will have a lot to learn,” stressed Innocent Ninsiima, one of the participants from Rwanda.

Alizeh Kohari from Pakistan, who spoke on behalf of the international participants, said that it is very important for young people from different countries to come together because it fosters friendships and encourages the exchange of ideas amongst them, despite having diverse cultural backgrounds

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Commonwealth Youth Programme is a major programme partner and generous support has also been received from the Commonwealth Foundation, the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council, the Zochonis Charitable Trust and the Open Gate Trust.

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