The East African Community (EAC) has pledged to establish more youth clubs and engage more university students as its endeavour to spearhead the regional integration agenda.
EAC head of corporate communications and public affairs, Owora Richard Othieno, disclosed this here when he addressed the ‘Youth to Cooperate World Forum’ held at the Tumaini University Makumira (TUMA).
The forum brought together over 1,000 students from six universities in Arusha. Apart from the EAC’s outreach, the students were also given lectures on insightful topics on education, self-leadership, skills and business development techniques, all geared to prepare them for life after graduation.
At the event, the EAC secretariat launched a youth club for the Institute of Accountancy Arusha (IAA), part of the trading bloc’s efforts to take the integration agenda close to students in the region.
Othieno said: “This event gave the trading bloc a good platform to engage and interest students in advocating for regional integration initiatives.
“By involving the youth in regional integration we will not only increase their capacity in the (integration) process, but also provide the East African region with a pool of competent and talented young men and women to carry out the work of the EAC.
“We’re looking forward to establishing more youth clubs in the country and working closely with other higher learning institutions in order to reach our goals.”
According to Othieno, the new club will provide students with a caring and supportive environment for access and inclusion in regional sensitisation and educational activities on the EAC
