The East African Community (EAC) Youth Ambassadors will undertake a multi-stakeholder outreach programme targeting the border districts/communities at Horohoro (Tanzania) and Lunga Lunga (Kenya).The sensitization programme will take place from October 9-10, 2019.
The major goal of the programme is to sensitize the youth within the border communities, local leaders and actors as well as border agencies on issues hindering regular cross border movements and threats linked to irregular movements such as smuggling or trafficking.
The two-day sensitization programme aims at establishing partnerships with relevant actors at the local level to maximise on the mitigation possibilities to simultaneously increase access to opportunities presented in the EAC Common Market for young people through better management and secured cross border movements.
The sensitization program will, among other things, seek to achieve the following:
Understand the limiting factors for border management officials in curbing migrant smuggling and trafficking challenges at the borders;
Build joint stakeholder approaches towards legal cross border trade and sharing of best practices in transfer of border management technologies;
Sensitize border communities (including vulnerable groups such as young people) and border agencies on threats and other risks related to cross border smuggling and trafficking
Share and exchange information about opportunities available in the EAC for young East Africans to legally benefit from the region and vice versa. This aims to reduce negative effects of migration of young people to access available livelihood opportunities, and;
Increase collaboration between border stakeholder, actors and EAC Secretariat on border management
The sensitization programme will be attended by Representatives of Border Security and law enforcement agencies; Members of the immigration border control; representative of the Ministry of EAC Affairs from each Partner State; the District Youth leadership; the current EAC Youth Ambassadors, Alumni, youth Representatives and; the border communities with emphasis given to youth.
The EAC Youth Ambassadors are an initiative of the Nyerere Centre for Peace and Research with the mandate of increasing EAC sensitization among young people in the EAC. This mandate extends to being active influencers of EAC programmes and policy frameworks to address the emerging day-to-day realities of young people within the community. The EAC youth ambassadors work with former and serving ambassadors to achieve their mandate from time to time.
