Founder & Executive Director
Inspire Liberia Project, LIBERIA
Mr. Emmanuel N. B. Flomo has an MBA in Public Finance and is the 2015 Winner of the Future Africa Award Prize for Youth in Public Service, Lagos, Nigeria. He has contributed to youth development work in Liberia and Africa for over 15 years. Mr. Flomo was elected as Vice President for Liberia National Student Union (LINSU), which serves as the umbrella organization for all students in Liberia. In 2013, he was also selected to the Technical Youth Team of Former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Program called the President ‘s Young Professional Program. Mr. Flomo is the Founder & Executive Director of The Inspire Liberia Project, an institution in Liberia working to promote youth empowerment through community civic engagement, community empowerment, and to increase indigenous participation in decision making in Liberia.
| Event Title:Advancing Youth through Social and Economic Empowerment | Date: September 25, 2019 |
SPEECH
Let me first acknowledge the hard work, and extend my thanks, to Cemre Ulker and the President for Journalist and Writer Foundation, Mr. Mehmet Kilic for this initiative and for affording me the opportunity to moderate this prestigious panel. In that respect, I am happy to welcome everyone, to Panel 2 discussion with a focus on Advancing Youth through Social and Economic Empowerment.
Young people are a significant segment of the global population index and critical to the social and economic development of any country. Today, there are over 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years; indicating that Young people are key. We can play a significant role in enhancing global social and economic development and change if we are given the opportunity. Some progress has been made in many Countries in advancing Youth Development, but the challenges in the process are still overwhelming in many parts of our globe.
Many of the progress so far in youth development is overwhelmingly credited to developed nations, while developing nations are far from near giving serious attention to these issues. For example, the European Commission considers that “Europe’s future prosperity depends on its young people and thus deserve particular support and consideration as well as seeks to strengthen people’s current and future capacities and improve their opportunities to participate in society” (EC European Policy brief, 2014). Such a policy like this is vital for Youth Social Advancement and Empowerment, but the step taken by the EU is yet acknowledged or cheer in the entire continent of Africa.
Africa which the youth population is estimated to be one-third of the world population today is behind when it comes to youth social advancement and empowerment. The youth of the continent is poor; education and access to jobs have been challenged. This figure and the lack of progress in youth development in Africa posed a tremendous global threats to the SDGs if African leaders and the young people are not proactively engaged.
As part of the engagement effort, I have made continuous advocacies in Liberia with emphasis on the national frameworks that promote a productive workforce and creating opportunities that could allow the youth to make a significant contribution to nation-building. Young people should be empowered and motivated to consider political leadership as a means to serve their nation and should be oriented on anti-corruption drives with a focus on prevention, education, and strategies for fighting corruption and restoring economic development.
Well-developed skills can be equated to long-lasting empowerment and sustainable growth. When we take critical development steps, a huge to the reduction in the rural and urban gap becomes visible and appreciable by the society and its people. Young people represent courage, wisdom, and energy, the will-power to do good, they are able to take leadership that would make the difference. Their energy and understanding must be respected, guided and built for future roles.
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