KANDAHAR - Speakers at a United Nations-backed event on Sunday in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province to mark International Youth Day (12 August) said the country’s youth should take more role in political and socio-economic processes.

The event, jointly organized by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the Kandahar Youth Federation and the provincial Department of Information and Culture, also chose three youth ‘role models’ from diverse backgrounds: sports, education and civil society.

“Youth are the backbone of a society and they are responsible for the future of any country. In Afghanistan, youth play an important role in shaping the future of their nation. Youth have to take active part in the election process,” said Haji Mathiullah Khan Rohyal, a poet, civil society activist and one of the ‘role models.’

Another ‘role model,’ Engineer Ahmad Shah Amin, who is also a teacher, said Afghanistan’s youth should work “day and night” to overcome challenges.

“Youth from Kandahar to Kabul and Herat to Badakhshan should join their hands and focus on their future,” he said to the audience of about 120 youth and elders. “We have to be proactive in order to preserve our future and take active participation in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. We need to acquire education for a better future.”

The third ‘role model’ was Abdul Sami Ghairatmal, a local football hero in Kandahar as well as a media freedom activist.

The programme in Kandahar ended with a consensus to further enhance role of the youth in Kandahar. Moreover, they also pledged to extend their communication with the youth of other provinces of the country in order to foster unity.

The UN in Afghanistan marked this year’s International Youth Day on 15 August with the main event – a youth concert – organized in Bamyan. The event brought together leading Afghan musicians from around the country for a rousing display of cultural unity and national solidarity.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, UNAMA-supported events to mark International Youth Day included seminars, theatre performance and music concerts on Thursday.

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