SOUTH SUDAN / UPPER NILE YOUTH FORUM
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STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / UPPER NILE YOUTH FORUM
TRT: 03:54
SOURCE: UNMISS
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 07-09 DECEMBER 2021, MALAKAL, SOUTH SUDAN
SHORTLIST:
1. Pan right, youth participants
2. Med shot, youth writing
3. Various shots, youth representatives signing an action plan
4. Pan left, participants clapping hands
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Edmund Yakani, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization facilitator:
“We have joined with the youth to create projects and, one activity that we have undertaken and will implement immediately inside the hall, is that we have formed a cooperative union for the youth of Upper Nile. The youth started with their own contributions from their pockets, collected about one hundred thousand South Sudanese Pounds [USD300] and I, myself, added USD1000 to that amount for them to start with”.
6. Pan left, UN staff, stakeholders, and youth participants
7. Med shot, facilitator
8. Various shots, youth participants
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Omal Yor, Makal County youth representative:
“The start of this business project for the youth with their own initiative has a small budget right now but when the business is up and running, then organizations working for peace will fund it, the government may also support it, but the major contribution will come from self-reliance of the youth.”
10. Wide shot, youth discussion
11. Wide shot, facilitator stressing point of discussion
12. Med shot, participants writing
13. Wide shot, a youth participant explaining
14. Med shot, a participant explaining
15. Wide shot, papers containing issues being discussed
16. Wide shot, youth group discussions (outdoor)
17. Med shot, stakeholders and UN staff
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Dzakuma, UNMISS Civil Affairs Division Deputy Director:
“I am encouraging you to go along the same lines when you go back and form small cells in your counties. Once you are identified as a very serious group, we [UNMISS] shall implement activities through you. We shall reach out to you in your counties to implement activities and you won’t come here but we will come to you in the communities.”
Dozens of youth representatives from across the Upper Nile region of South Sudan came together for a special workshop to build trust and develop a collaborative approach to promoting unity, peace and security.
There has been persistent conflict among youth in this region with tensions increasing due to the dire economic situation. The violence has included attacks by on humanitarian workers and facilities over frustrations related to employment opportunities.
To tackle this situation, the youth representatives from 13 counties came up with an innovative plan to form a cooperative union to ease the suffering of young people and support opportunities to create new jobs and businesses. The signing of their action plan was a major milestone in building trust among themselves and showing their readiness to depend on each other.
SOUNDBITE (English) Edmund Yakani, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization facilitator: “We have joined with the youth to create projects and, one activity that we have undertaken and will implement immediately inside the hall, is that we have formed a cooperative union for the youth of Upper Nile. The youth started with their own contributions from their pockets, collected about one hundred thousand South Sudanese Pounds [USD300] and I, myself, added USD1000 to that amount for them to start with.”
One of the youth representatives who signed the action plan on behalf of his county, Paul Omal Yor, explained its importance and how young people will benefit from the project.
SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Omal Yor, Makal County youth representative:
“The start of this business project for the youth with their own initiative has a small budget right now but when the business is up and running, then organizations working for peace will fund it, the government may also support it, but the major contribution will come from self-reliance of the youth.”
The three-day workshop was facilitated by the Center for Community Empowerment and Progress Organization with support from the Civil Affairs Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Dzakuma, UNMISS Civil Affairs Division Deputy Director:
“I am encouraging you to go along the same lines when you go back and form small cells in your counties. Once you are identified as a very serious group, we [UNMISS] shall implement activities through you. We shall reach out to you in your counties to implement activities and you won’t come here but we will come to you in the communities.”
It is an initiative being celebrated locally but will hopefully be replicated across South Sudan so that all youth can live peaceful and prosperous lives.