GYIN-Gambia Interim Executive Meets IFAD Country Programme Manager

PICTURE: GYIN-Gambia Executive with IFAD Moses Abukari

The Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN)-Gambia planned executive led by Mamadou Edrisa Njie, GYIN Gambia Ambassador had a meeting with the Country Programme Manager, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Moses Abukari on the operational of GYIN-Gambia as well as to introduce the planned executive.

The meeting was held at the Roc Height Lodge in Cape Point, Bakau on 22^nd February, 2012. The meeting aimed at briefing the IFAD Country Programme Manager about the activities and programmes GYIN-Gambia intended to carry out in the country.

At the meeting, Mr. Mamadou Edrisa Njie national coordinator GYIN-Gambia spoke at length about GYIN (www.gyin.org), saying that it was in October 2011 that he (Njie) was selected among a good number of youths from Africa, America, Asia, Middle East and Europe to attend the global launching of the network in Cotonou, Benin.

According to him, GYIN-Gambia is here to support the aims and objectives of GYIN saying that the network aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty among poor rural youth in the country.

This, he said, will be done through exposure to opportunities and business prospects, innovation, and knowledge on replicable youth successful models in small scale agri-business and entrepreneurship, to enable them to create and engage in sustainable small scale agri-businesses.

 GYIN-Gambia, he added, will create and support rural youth in agri-business, entrepreneurship and self-employment  under which young people can act on their own behalf and on their own terms and to facilitate exchange of experiences, learning and networking for young entrepreneurs.

When he took his turn, Moses Abukari, Country Programme Manager, IFAD told the proposed executive that GYIN is a youth-led initiative, facilitated and managed entirely by young people, and supported by IFAD, Phelps Stokes among other international partners.

According to Moses, youths are the future entrepreneurs and business leaders of any developing nations; therefore, youth needs to be supported in developing and implementing their own activities and programmes. He also notes that youths have lots of potentials which need be harnessed by providing them with right mix of support in order to become the change agents in their communities.

He advised the interim executive to work in line with their mission and vision statements with which they will reach large target of the youth in the rural areas by making use of existing communication tools including social media.  “Your focus should remain providing opportunities to young women and men in rural areas,” he said, while exhorting for you to be innovative in their development stride.

Recalling the GYIN workshop-fair in Benin, Moses said the workshop brought together 66 young people from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and America to learn, discuss, and share experiences and ideas as well connect with business and networking.

For his part Abdou Rahman Sallah, Project Manager dilated on some of the activities GYIN-Gambia intend to carry out among them are; registration and setting up a secretariat, launching the network as an NGO, capacity building, identification, setting and training of GYIN Community Based Ambassadors countywide etc.

He added that the target groups would be rural young women and men who can be engaged in agric-business, entrepreneurship, self-employment and innovation by supporting Community Based Organisations in their communities. Mr. Modou S. Joof, GYIN-Gambia PRO and Meita Touray, GYIN-Gambia Secretary General also spoke at the meeting.

About GYIN-   The Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty among poor rural youth in Africa and the Americas through exposure to opportunities and business prospects, innovation, and knowledge on replicable youth successful models in small scale agri-business, to enable them to create and engage in sustainable small scale agri-businesses. The general objective of this Global Youth Innovation Network: Youth Entrepreneurs—Agents of Change is to create and support an enabling environment under which young people can act on their own behalf and on their own terms and to facilitate exchange of experiences, learning and networking for young entrepreneurs. The Global Youth Innovation Network will be a youthful-led initiative, facilitated and managed entirely by young people along with sponsors.

In this context the specific objectives are: To identify and engage with youth entrepreneurs and organization partners and communities; To ensure that experiences, good practices and learnt lessons are exchanged and reinforced by and for the benefit of young people and young entrepreneurs; To use a launching event as a springboard to establish a youth network in the region and that is nurtured by the expansion of youth-led level initiatives to improve entrepreneurship; and To facilitate a social networking platform that is owned and self-managed by youth and that function as a resource centre on youth and entrepreneurship.