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Listen to thisYouth have been encouraged to develop habits that can transform their future into a life appreciated by the world.
“Adolescents, you should develop habits of citizenship that can help them build a better future for the world.” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said on Wednesday while meeting Pope Francis in Rome.
“Adolescence is a pivotal time, an age of risk but also an age of opportunity. Young people who learn to work together and solve common problems are developing skills that will do more than help them build better futures for themselves,” Lake said.
Pope Francis and Lake were meeting to launch a new partnership that will provide more disadvantaged adolescents with the skills, information and understanding they need to become fully participating citizens of their societies.
The five-year collaboration between Scholas – the Pope founded organization and UNICEF – will focus on expanding the access of more adolescents, especially the most disadvantaged to technology, sports and arts. Scholas and UNICEF will primarily collaborate on joint global activities, including help end violence and promote connectivity for all youth, drawing on each other’s unique capacities.
“Scholas would like in some way to combine everyone’s efforts for education,” Pope Francis said in a joint press release.
Adding that through UNICEF, culture, sport and science can be improved in all the continents benefiting the vast majority of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents living in developing countries.
Catherine Ntabadde, Communication Specialist UNICEF Uganda says the support will majorly go towards giving voices to youth to raise issues affecting them in society. “In Uganda, we’ll work out the specifics soon, which will include utilizing U-report, a UNICEF platform that enables those who register – known as U-reporters – to receive and respond to weekly SMS questions about Ugandan social development issues.” Ntabadde said.
Ntabadde stressed that in Uganda UNICEF is already engaged with the Catholic Church to promote family care practices, education and protection,
As a result activities including: treatment for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea for children under five; scaling-up PMTCT; promoting birth registration; supporting violence helplines; and fostering community dialogue are being done.
She said the partnership will be used to reach more adolescents and equip them with more information and skills to enable them fully participate in issues that affect them within society.
David Oduut
22 April 2015
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/667347-youth-should-live-to-appreciate-the-world-says-unicef.html
