The promotion of the awareness of youth volunteering for Global Development and encouragement of debates aimed at defining the role youths play in elaborating development policies and in co-operation for development initiatives, was the focus of the 12th edition of the University of Youth and Development that took place from the 18th to the 25th of September, in Mollina, Spain. The seminar captioned ‘Youths Volunteering for Global Development’, jointly organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, the Spanish Government (INJUVE), the European Youth Forum (YFJ), the Spanish Youth Council (CJE) and other international youth organizations brought together over 390 participants from various youth organizations in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America Under the auspices of the IFM-SEI, OGCEYOD Cameroon represented by its intern, Delphine Konda, took part in the seminar with workshops on ‘Volunteering against Poverty’. At the six day workshop, participants were taught the basics of film making and funding. The seminar was a preparatory meeting for the upcoming EVS (European Voluntary Service) and the VAP (Volunteering against Poverty) projects that will be implemented in 2012.
According to Delphine, the EVS Program is a wonderful opportunity for Cameroon because it will encourage intercultural exchange and its project VAP will attack the issue of poverty from a different dimension.
This is because 17 young volunteers all around the world will be working on documentaries depicting poverty in different countries, thereby bringing to light the current poverty situation in Cameroon and other third world countries. The VAP project will give youths inspiration to see how youths of other countries take decisions to influence policy making in their countries and bring all the youths together to deliberate and discuss issues affecting them and their government. This program is a lamplight to youths in Cameroon as it will create a political space where youths can act and take decisions on their own to bring about change.
She also added that the program will also reiterate the benefits and the indispensable role that volunteers play in Cameroon and the at large. She called on , national and international bodies to make available more opportunities whereby youths in Cameroon can volunteer for development because it will give them a new approach to life and policy making
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