Galkacyo, Puntland (July 29) – In partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Somali Family Services (SFS) facilitated a forum for 20 young men and women from different youth organizations in Galkacyo on Wednesday to select a representative to the Somalia United Nations Country Team (UNCT) Youth Advisory Panel (YAP).

The forum, entitled “Youth Empowerment: Yesterday and Today,” aimed to explain the objective of the YAP, discuss pertinent issues affecting Somali youth and elect one representative from Galkacyo to serve on the panel. The youth participants also addressed political, social and economic issues affecting youth, and discussed the compatibility of the Somalia Youth Charter to the needs of youth communities.

Mohamed Abdiqadiir Ali from Dud, Mudug was elected by his peers to serve as the Galkacyo representative to the YAP, finishing ahead of two young men and a young woman in an open and transparent voting process.

Once in place, the YAP will promote meaningful dialogue between Puntland  youth representatives and the UNCT, serving as a platform to involve the youth in advising the UN to design youth-friendly strategies, policies and programs. This forum in Galkacyo is part of an ongoing SFS effort to identify qualified youth to represent Puntland in the UNCT, and similar forums will soon be held in Bosaso and Garowe to elect four other youth. Of the five youth that will be elected to join the YAP, two will come from an IDP and minority group, with the other three representing their respective hometown of Bosaso, Galkacyo, or Garowe. All elected representatives will then meet in Garowe for an orientation and introduction to United Nations.

SFS acknowledges the role of the youth as future leaders of Puntland and Somalia, and aims to incorporate youth communities into all SFS projects.

Somali Family Services is a non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering a peaceful and democratic Somalia through the support of civil society, women, youth and other marginalized groups.

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For more information, please contact Nafisa Abdirahman at nafisa.abdirahman@ussfs.org or visit www.ussfs.org.