Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit II, Ifrane, Morocco,
18-23 August 2005.
Young men and women leaders from more than 40 African countries unanimously agreed to advance initiatives toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the second Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit in Ifrane, Morocco, 18 – 23 August 2005. With theme “From Awareness to Action,” the Summit endorsed sport as an entry point for mobilizing African youth for practical initiatives, many delegates are working on projects using sport to help reverse the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic, help at-risk youth and to promote peace and tolerance in areas torn by conflict.
Delegates from every African country, embodying the African Union’s young leaders, unanimously adopted the Ifrane Declaration at the conclusion of the summit. They re-committed to the first Pan-African Summit’s Dakar Declaration and affirming their commitment to work towards the achievement of the MDGs. The delegates committed to sport as an entry point towards achievement of the MDGs within the framework of the International Year of Sport and Physical Education (IYSPE 2005), and pledged to work towards a future where “Africa controls its resources” and can offer these to aid in building “a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world.” The declaration points to several tools to help realize the summit’s vision, including sport, improved access to information and communications technology, and partnerships with young leaders from other regions of the world.
The delegates called on governments to create a stronger voice for young people in the decisions and actions that affect their daily lives and futures. They asked governments, the UN system, NGOs, and civil society groups to integrate sport into their development agenda and dedicate more resources to “sport for all” initiatives at home and abroad. The delegates committed to working with their regional chairs, those from other regions, and the organizers toward the Global Youth Leadership Summit at the UN in New York in August 2006, and pledged to turn back hunger, poverty, disease, and war and injustice, saying that “patience and steady work” are needed to achieve their vision for the continent.
