Youths who are excelling in various sectors were last week honoured at a glamorous event held in the capital and organised by 4-H Zimbabwe and the SAYWHAT Organisation.
The awards winners were across sectors including Mining, Sports, Agriculture, Arts, Tourism, innovation, Entrepreneurship, Academic Excellence, Social Responsibility, Children’s Rights and Media.
263Chat Senior Journalist, Lovejoy Mutongwiza scooped the Outstanding Youth Award In the media after yet another successful year in reporting.
Guest of honour at the ceremony, Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation Kirsty Coventry who was represented by her Permanent Secretary Dr Thokozile Chitepo, challenged the nation to embrace young people and include them in all facets of the country to achieve sustainable development.
Coventry said youths should thrive to excel despite the economic impediments that face them.
“Youth participation in the economy has the potential to ensure sustainable development and economic growth for Zimbabwe. Their exclusion can result in social instability, skills flights and unsustainable development,” she said.
Zimbabwe has faced a mass exodus of young people who flock other countries in search of better opportunities as the economy continues to bite.
However, Coventry said youth must get peer networks and mentoring programs that encourage them to stay and contribute to the economy.
“As we are running with the theme “Celebrating Youths Trendsetters in Reviving Zimbabwe’s Economy “youths should network and have peer to peer networking in order to achieve greatness through collaborations,” she said.
The awards coincided with a mentorship program for the winners, who each, will be assigned a mentor in their respective fields to improve their skills.
“The inaugural mentorship program being launched here today sets the foundation for engagement that helps develop individual youth and enable them to influence their spheres.
It is our firm belief that that the success of the mentorship program will play a role in the revival of the nation’s economy and will facilitate innovation, food security, increase health, wellbeing and production of the general population especially in the context of immense economic pressure which has been exerted on the country by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Coventry added.
She revealed that the ministry is coming up with a youth leadership capacity development program which is aimed at empowering young people and enabling them to participate in national development programs.
The awards ceremony honoured youths who have contributed immensely to various facets of the economy and are a brainchild of 4H Zimbabwe in partnership with the SAYWHAT organization.
4-H Zimbabwe Director John Muchenje noted that the awards are meant to identify and motivate youths to play a key role in their respective fields to the benefit of the country.
Muchenje noted that the awards will only grow bigger and will continue to focus on youths who are doing well to achieve the Vision 2030, which the government is working on to achieve a middle-income economy by 2030.
The strategy adopted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa will hinge on the inception of youths in all economic activities.
