04/09/2026
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
๐๏ธ Lesedi Lephojane
The Southern Africa Youth, Peace and Economic Development Summit (SAYPEDS 2026) was held this morning under the theme, โ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐,โ bringing together young people, government representatives, diplomatic missions, development partners, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders to deliberate on issues affecting the regionโs youth.
Speaking at the summit, Project Director Ambassador Letsweletse Ngwako said young people want to meaningfully participate in governance and need opportunities to be part of conversations that will shape the future of their countries.
He emphasised the importance of enhancing youth participation in peacebuilding and social cohesion initiatives, noting that young people continue to face challenges, including exclusion from important decision-making spaces where they could make a significant impact.
Ambassador Ngwako called on government to be more receptive to young people by creating opportunities for them to be heard, participate and take their rightful place at decision-making tables.
He said young people possess ideas, leadership, energy and lived experiences that should be recognised and incorporated into national development processes. He added that youth development is not always about financial resources, but also requires access to information, mentorship and networking opportunities.
Ngwako acknowledged that government cannot achieve youth development alone and called on civil society organisations, advocacy groups, the private sector and financial institutions, among other stakeholders, to contribute to the youth development agenda.
Ambassador Ngwako also encouraged young people to make use of the resources and opportunities available to them rather than waiting for the perfect moment. He cited SAYPEDS as an example, noting that the initiative was started without sponsors but was driven by a dream of promoting economic development, peace and prosperity for young people.
Giving her opening remarks, Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs, Honourable Lesego Chombo, commended the organisers of the summit and young people who continue to pursue their aspirations despite challenging economic conditions. Minister Chombo emphasised the importance of tenacity and determination, noting that success does not always come instantly and that meaningful results often require patience and persistence.
Honourable Chombo noted that with Africa being the worldโs youngest continent, with approximately 60 percent of its population below the age of 25, there is a significant responsibility on governments and institutions to ensure that young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and opportunities necessary to contribute meaningfully to the development of their countries and communities.
Minister Chombo stated that government also seeks to strengthen the economy so that it can provide greater support to young people and their ideas.
โ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐. ๐๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฌ. ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ค๐๐ญ๐ฌ. ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐,โ she said.
Minister Chombo stressed the importance of establishing practical pathways through which young people can access information, finance, technology, mentorship, markets, institutions and decision-making spaces, she highlighted that the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs actively advocates for greater equity and inclusion in access to opportunities, including employment and leadership. She noted the target of ensuring that, by 2029, at least 35 percent of leadership and decision-making positions are occupied by young people.
Honourable Chombo further stated that the newly adopted National Youth Policy calls for youth to be mainstreamed into institutional recruitment and development processes, recognising that young people should not only be beneficiaries of policies, but also active participants in the institutions and decisions that shape their future.
The Ministry has also pursued stronger public-private partnerships, including collaborations with Lucara and Diacore, to refurbish and develop youth centres across the country. The centres are expected to serve as hubs for skills development, entrepreneurship, mentorship, innovation and civic engagement among young people.
For his part, Minister of International Relations, Honourable Dr Phenyo Butale, commended the organisers for convening a platform that brings together various stakeholders to discuss issues central to the future of the region. Honourable Dr Phenyo Butale described the summitโs theme as both timely and significant, noting that peace, policy and prosperity are closely interconnected.
โ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ; ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ง๐ฌ; ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ, ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ, ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง,โ he said.
Minister Butale noted that as economies continue to evolve through digital transformation, technological innovation and changing labour-market demands, the skills required by employers and industries are also changing.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that education and skills-development systems remain responsive to the needs of modern economies, while urging young people to prepare themselves not only to participate in national economies, but also to take advantage of regional and global opportunities.
He also commended the inclusion of an exhibition component at the summit, noting that exhibitions provide young people with opportunities to discover services, products, entrepreneurship opportunities, institutions and networks that can contribute to their personal and professional development.
In closing, Minister Butale said the true measure of the summit would ultimately be determined by whether its recommendations are pursued, opportunities are created and young people experience meaningful and lasting change.
๐ทWarona Orapeleng
