KIGALI - African youth have been urged to set their own values and make decisions on what they want to be, if they are to succeed in life.

The advise was given yesterday by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Sayinzoga Kampeta, at the opening of a two-day conference on fostering young women’s empowerment.

The conference, organised by UN Women-Africa, in partnership with Imbuto Foundation, is part of ongoing consultations towards the development of UN’s African Young Women Leadership Programme.

While delivering a motivational speech to youth from 28 African countries, Kampeta challenged them to bring about the change they aspire for.

"You have to challenge yourself to be the best that you can be. It is very important because it helps you whenever you feel like giving up,” she said.

Kampeta told the participants that to be successful, they must have desire, determination, discipline and dedication.

"If you meet an obstacle, don’t let go. You need to have a spirit that is solution-oriented because people who succeed are those who solve problems,” she added.

According to Dona Kamashazi, the head of UN Women-Africa Kigali office, the UN Women-Africa is in a historic institutional transformation for women at the UN level.

She explained that it is renewing its commitment to ensure greater engagement of African youth in addressing critical issues of importance to women and girls on the continent.

Kamashazi said that the conference seeks to solicit input from key stakeholders in devising sustainable strategies for engaging emerging African youth leaders in the advancement of gender equality.

Speaking to The New Times, Rotimi Olowale a participant from Nigeria hailed the initiative by the UN-Women.

"The consultation is important for the youth across Africa because we will be given the opportunity to air out our views on what we want UN-Women to do to empower the youth, especially young women.”

"Our experience from the grassroots will contribute a lot in developing a strategic plan for the UN-Women and we also expect to learn a lot from them,” said Rosemary Agbor, from Cameroon.

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