By Michael Gwarisa
An estimated 250 delegates are set to grace the fifth edition of the Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference (SARSYC) that will run from July 17-19, 2024 in Gaborone, Botswana.
The conference will attract speakers from diverse young people groups as well as experienced public health experts, development partners and government officials.
In an interview with HealthTimes ahead of the conference, Jimmy Wilford, the Conference Convener and SAYWAHT Executive Director said it was all systems go the annual conference.
We are prepared, we have a dedicated team preparing for the conference since last year,” said Wilford.
He added that the decision to host the 5th edition in Gaborone was made in Malawi during the 4th edition of SARSYC.
“So, we have been working closely with the University of Botswana and a steering committee that was composed of young people and other stakeholders from the SADC region to put this conference together. I can safely say we are ready to host the students from tertiary institutions, Parliamentarians, and Development partners within SADC.”
The 250 delegates will come mainly from tertiary institutions in Angola, Botswana, DRC, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
“Important to note that the delegates are a mixer of students and out-of-school young people representing various stakeholders. The SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) Secretary General and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health in Botswana will be amongst the delegation as guests. Furthermore, we will also have delegates from the UN Family (UNFPA, UNESCO, UNAIDS), National AIDS Health Promotion Agency (Botswana), Men and Boys for Gender Equality, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Stop TB Partnership, and young Researchers,” said Wilford.
The topics at the conference are going to be guided by the theme of the conference which is “Building Bridges – Navigating Emerging Issues: Advancing Equitable Access to Public Health and Education.”
“As you may know, this year marks 3 decades (30 years) since the hosting of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo. The conference tracks and topics provide a unique opportunity for young people discuss progress that has been made so. At the same time the young people will be setting the agenda for the post 2030 development goals.”
Other areas to be discussed include emerging challenges being caused by climate change, humanitarian crises, diseases outbreaks, HIV and TB, and other communicable diseases that are affecting students and youth. Lastly, the conference will also delve into the convergence between Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital technology and health that is transforming the health care landscape, improving patient outcomes, and experiences towards more sustainable health systems.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in Botswana will be the key speaker as well as the Executive Director of Society for AIDS in Africa – Mr Luc Bodea, SADC PF Secretary General, a renowned academia Dr Cho, UNFPA ESARO Executive Director, Ms.Lydia Zigomo and Chairperson of the Zambia Parliamentary Caucus on SRHR.
Young people within SADC often encounter similar challenges including access to education, health care, unemployment, gender inequality, and climate change. According to Wilford, the SARSYC provides a platform for young people in the SADC region to meet with government and other development players to collectively find solutions to the myriad challenges that are similar in the region.
“SARSYC is a unique and important platform as it brings together students, young people, policymakers, program implementers, and civic groups to address barriers and vulnerabilities faced by millions of young people in the region. SARSYC research indaba provides an opportunity for young people to contribute to the solutions through well research models,” he added.
He however highlighted that limited funds for young people to attend the conference have been a major albatross to hosting the conference as young people are supposed to meet their own expenses for them to attend the conference.
“I would like to appreciate development partners and civil society organizations who have supported the registration of young people to ensure their participation. The support came from Embassy of Sweden in Zimbabwe, Education Out Loud, Amplify Change, UNFPA, National AIDS Council (Zimbabwe) amongst others.”
The objectives of the 5th edition of SARSYC are:
- To promote meaningful youth participation in addressing the impacts of climate change and other emerging issues on the health, education, and overall well-being of young people in Southern Africa.
- To foster synergy between the health and education sectors in addressing the needs of young people.
- To account for the progress made by stakeholders in implementing commitments related to the health, education, and livelihoods of young people since SARSYC IV.
- To amplify the voices of young people in shaping the ICPD30 agenda between 2024 and 2026.
Wilford said Young people are part of the current and the future and there is a need to systematically coordinate the voices of young people in Southern Africa and influence the policy direction on critical aspects of their lives.
“As various players meet to discuss the future development goals post 2030, its imperative not to leave out the voices of the young people. We need to discourage those who suffocate the young people’s spaces by calling themselves young at heart. The conference proceedings will also be on various social media platforms and those who might not attend physically will benefit from the online feeds.”
