Hundreds Of Youths Converge At Gigiri For The UN Drugs And Crime Conference

A three day youth conference hosted by United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC ROEA) has kicked off today, bringing together hundreds of youths from all over Kenya. 

The high level delegation was opened up by ambassadors and Global youth representatives to the United Nations covering all 47 counties, to engage in dialogue and create solutions on anti-corruption.

They have focused on including youth from vulnerable communities and those from informal residential neighborhoods such as Kibera.

Speaking at the opening of the ceremony, the  Director General to United Nations in Kenya Hanna S .Terreh  noted that “there is a devastating negative impact of corruption in the achievement of SDGs which aims at promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, and every shilling lost to corruption denies a Kenyan youth the ability to rise above the poverty line”  Terreh ended.

The Youth Workshop will serve as the launch of UNODC-ROEA’s Regional Youth Programme which aims to serve as a valuable resource for youth integration into leadership opportunities and anti-corruption initiatives, supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and Vision 2030.

According to Head of UNODC East Africa Dr. Amado Philip, a nation fails for not focusing on the bigger picture.

“To remove cancer you have to fight it from its roots. If we invest more in top notch knowledge from the lower level all the way to upper academic level, get the best technology from around the world then employer ability will increase” he said

 To him, the dynamics that revolve around the solution focus on creating a wide range of employment opportunities.

Read: UN, Government To Engage Youths In Generating Solutions To Corruption

Youths that got rehabilitated from drugs and crime gave experiences that have transformed their lives from the streets and drug addiction which will see Credit Bank, one of the event sponsors, award them a grant for financial support for the  best entrepreneurial ideas at the end of the  three day conference

With an array of artists and entertainers, the UNODC Youth Conference highlighted the important role that art, culture and sports can play in the empowerment of youths and their communities, especially through promoting social inclusion and deterring crime.

The event ends on December 7.