Junior Chamber International Botswana this week wooed the local corporate sector to join the bandwagon as partners ahead of the 13th annual JCI Botswana National Convention in September.
IFSC Chief Executive Officer, Alan Boshwaen, who is also the patron of JCI Botswana, revealed at a breakfast briefing that youth development and empowerment were the essential ingredients to a healthy and stable nation.
The convention programme would include training sessions on leadership, investment, effective communication and relationship management.
There will be a presidential dinner which will be graced by former president, Sir Ketumile Masire, who is reputable for his perseverance as a farmer and, most importantly, as a politician of note.
Besides young professionals, executives and entrepreneurs, the civil society practitioners, opinion leaders and the business community in general will also benefit from this event.
As a leader of IFSC ÔÇôan institution which also lobbies for youth empowerment – Boshwaen admits that he was attracted to JCI and in particular JCI Botswana, mainly because of the striking similarities.
The similarities include presenting opportunities for young people to develop themselves, to develop oneself to attain personal goals and opportunities to develop one’s entrepreneurial acumen.
He added that the other similarity is the opportunity to serve one’s community through voluntary work and the opportunity to develop one’s international network, which includes, inter alia, attending JCI international events.
“Initiating schemes such as CEDA, including the Young Farmers Fund, the Out of School Youth Fund and, more recently, initiatives to engage unemployed graduates as interns in government departments as well as the appointment of Youth Officers in all ministries this is a clear sign of government’s commitment to youth employment,” notes the IFSC CEO, at the same time urging the private sector to lend a helping hand to ensure the success of JCI Botswana and the national convention.
For her part, JCI Botswana executive director, Ngwatshi Enyatseng, called for the organizations to partner with them in this development initiative, wooing in the same tone the potential entrepreneurs to visit the occasion to demystify the notion young people are lavish and extravagant and as a result would not tick in long term business initiatives.
Designed to provide a platform for young professionals aged between 18 and 40 years to engage each other and thus create shared values for a better society, this year’s convention, scheduled for 25th -27th September in Gaborone, goes under the banner ‘Active Citizens in Action’ and is expected to attract over 100 attendees from across the globe.
Among the private sectors, which attended the meet, are Barclays Bank and officials from the Ministry of Youth and Culture.
