Closing Remark by

H.E. Mrs. Amira Elfadil
Commissioner for Social Affairs

AT THE 3rd SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEETING ON YOUTH, CULTURE AND SPORTS (STC-YCS–3)

25 OCTOBER 2018
ALGIERS, ALGERIA

Hon. Minister of Youth and Sport of Algeria
Hon. Ministers
Distinguished Experts;
Partners;
Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA)
Association of African Sport Confederations (AASC)
World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA)
Association of Women in Sport in Africa (AWISA)
Invited Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am very pleased that we have successfully come to the end of this STC-YCS3.
On behalf of the AU Commission and the Chairperson of the AUC H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, I would like to express my thankfulness to all Member States and the partners here for the work achieved through deliberations. My gratitude is extended further to the government of Algeria for hosting this important gathering of Ministers of Youth, Culture and Sports.
I am also deeply motivated and equally appreciative for the good attendance of Member States at both the experts and ministerial levels. This commitment is a reflection of shared and continuous endeavors towards building a sustainable socioeconomic landscape for our African youth.
We had very fruitful and positive deliberations particularly on the key issues around the theme of this STC-YCS3. This we could not have achieved without the support of the Government and the people of Agleria.
Honourables, Excellencies, Partners, Colleagues, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,
I have noted that through the deliberations on sports, we understand the benefits that it may have for the youth and for the continent as whole. These sessions have been both informative and engaging and further given all of us more responsibility towards enlisting sports as key tenet in the development of our continent.
However, the opportunity for companies and sport entities to benefit from involvement in sporting events given that overall spending on such events is huge, presents a potential for corruption. Bribery, doping, match fixing and illegal betting are just some of the negative actions that undermine the spirit of sport. To preserve the positive spirit of sport worldwide, governments, companies and sport entities have a responsibility to take action to ensure that principles of integrity, accountability and transparency are reflected in the way sport is conducted and managed.

I am happy that we developed some clear recommendations on the Role of African Youth in Building a Strong Sport and Culture towards Fighting Corruption and to use all the means at our disposal to ensure that Culture and Sport becomes significant instruments for addressing interests of the Youth, social and other challenges on the Continent.
In the past we have had various positions and points of views have been outlined and a number of recommendations given covering the whole aspect of doping in sport. And thus a view point stemmed that although Africa is a key stakeholder in the world of Sport we still face a number of challenges in complying and implementing international Anti-doping instruments. I note also the significant contributions we have made to date in that regard and yet there is still more from a development perspective and a compliance perspective and our efforts and mutual deliberations and shared aspirations are progressively moving us towards the right direction.
Our duty is even widely extended as a result of this conference.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our deliberations during this session have also been a major milestone in delivering thought and solutions on Youth and Corruption, which is the theme of the year 2018
It is therefore imperative that we strengthen our approaches and cooperation not only between ministries of Youth, Culture and Sports but also other key sectors and ministries amongst other initiatives as a way of developing synergies to address the challenges of corruption and how they affect youth in Africa.
I attest to all resolutions brought forth today that African youth are urgent and should be treated as such. From mainstreaming to engagement and empowerment to involvement in decision making our African youth should be key. They are our present and our future. Corruption disengages them at all levels of the meaningful contributions they may have for our continent. And I am happy to see all you here in your different capacities sharing similar sentiments in that regard.
Exellencies and honourable Ministers, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen
In conclusion,
Even as we seek to implement what we have agreed upon here, I would like to invite us all to think, within the framework of this committee, on the need to continue to harness our demographic dividend and strengthening the roles of our RECs, the AUC, Member States and Ministries in aiding youth and enabling their contributions in the fight against corruption.

Among other things, we have to explore new areas where we can invest in the cultural sector and identify the types of skills and training to promote the growth and expansion of the creative sector. This calls for a partnership with our institutions and centres of excellence in specific skills set development.
I am very pleased that our universities were part of the experts in the discussions we have had and this should be continued. With these institutions on board, we shall upgrade the human resources capabilities of the creative sector through training in the arts as well as training in arts administration, management and creative entrepreneurship.
Eventually, the growth of the creative sector shall be enhanced and significant opportunities created for transforming youthful energy into new ideas by tapping into youth culture. This will also provide much scope for youth entrepreneurship which is central in alleviating youth unemployment, and together achieve the AU vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own Citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.”
I thank you for your kind attention.