Minister urges youth to embrace volunteerism

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, is calling on the youth to develop the culture of volunteerism, saying it has played a key role in national development.“It’s everybody’s responsibility to mobile the youth to continue contributing to the country’s development to address the numerous challenges,” Nsengimana said.Citing classroom construction, he observed the youth have been key partners in development. The call came as the youth celebrated the International Youth Day in Kigali.“I encourage the youth to demonstrate patriotism through actions,” he added, noting that through the ministry’s civic education programmes, the youth are trained on how best to contribute to national development in different ways.Rwanda’s Youth Ambassador to the CommonWealth, Innocent Ninsiima, actively participate in developmental activities in the country.Ninsiima disclosed they created a Facebook page called Rwanda Youth Forum, to harness youth views on how best they can contribute to development.He said several activities were carried out in Kigali since Friday as part of this year’s celebrations, including communal work, public debate, awareness march and sports galas.The debate was held on Saturday under the theme: “Building a better world through Volunteerism: Partnering with the youth.”“The importance of the International Youth Day is to appreciate the role of youth in building the world but it’s also meant to motivate the youth around the world to contribute to national building,” Ninsiima said.Over 500 youth around Kigali participated in the march which started from Kigali Business Centre to the indoor stadium in Gasabo District, where a concert was held.The activities were organised through the National Youth Council (NYC). Gerald Rukabu, who was among the marchers said, “It is crucial to mould youth into future responsible citizens.”He advised fellow youth to develop a culture of hard work which he said would assist the country to achieve sustainable development.