Convened under the auspices of the Pan- African Parliament (PAP) Caucus on Youth, a Youth Dialogue, hosted by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco, is set to get underway in Rabat under the theme: The promotion of good governance through the elimination of hunger and malnutrition: Enhancing the role of young parliamentarians and the youth in Africa’s Legislature. The Dialogue will be held from 4 to 6 December 2022.
The three-day engagement between Parliamentarians and the African Youth Community is in line with the African Union (AU) 2022 theme: Strengthening Resilience Food Security and Nutrition on the African Continent: Strengthening Agro-Food Systems, Health, and Social Protection Systems for the Acceleration of Human, Social and Economic Capital Development.
The overall objective of the Youth Dialogue is to assess, identify and explore ways to address the elimination of hunger and malnutrition and promote economic good governance. In particular, the Dialogue will offer a platform to share evidence-based knowledge, analysis, and exchange of comparable lessons and experiences in addressing good governance in food security in Africa.
The official opening of the Dialogue will be officiated today by H.E Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira. The ceremony will also include remarks by Hon. Laila Dahi, Chairperson of the PAP Caucus on Youth; Rt. Hon. Rachid Talbi Alami, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Morocco; Rt. Hon. Enaam Mayara, Speaker of the House of Councillors of Morocco; and H.E. Mohamed Almahdi Ben Saeed, Minister of Youth and Culture of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Various stakeholders are expected to take part in the Dialogue. These include AU organs and institutions; Youth, women’s Youth networks and organizations; Young Parliamentarians and PAP Members; International Development Partners; Media, Academic; and Research Institutions.
The discussions of the Dialogue will focus on the elimination of hunger and malnutrition, included as one of the objectives in the UN Declaration on Social Progress and Development, the UN global goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, and the elimination of the causes that determine this situation are the common objectives of all nations. Engagements will further highlight the PAP’s contribution to food and Nutrition Security in the development of a model normative framework highlighting the best legislative principles and practices promoting healthy nutrition and diets.
Conceptually rooted in the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the PAP Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security adopted by the Plenary on 10 November 2022, is a tool for African States to establish or revise legislative and regulatory frameworks to ensure access to affordable nutritious food for all, promote a framework for permanent dialogue between stakeholders in the food sector, allocate substantial budgetary resources for the implementation of policies and programmes aimed at improving nutrition and healthy diets, and promote coordination and policy coherence between actors and agencies involved in the fight against malnutrition.
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