EU launches board to drive youth action, empowerment in Tanzania

Photo: Community Hands Foundation

This is a collaborative project between the Community Hands Foundation and Care International in Tanzania focused on youth leadership and climate adaptation.

By Guardian Reporter , The Guardian

THE European Union in Tanzania has launched Youth Sounding Board (YSB), an initiative aimed at amplifying youth participation and empowerment in key areas such as the blue economy, human capital, employment and governance.

The YSB comprises 25 young leaders from Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar who will advise EU Ambassador to Tanzania and EU delegation as well as Team Europe.

Speaking during the event in Dar es Salaam on Monday, Christine Grau, EU Ambassador to Tanzania, said that the EU will continue to foster youth engagement by providing avenues for educational growth and international exposure, notably through scholarship programmes like Erasmus+ and Member States opportunities, which offer high quality sponsored education frameworks.

“We value young people, their ideas, and their energy. The Youth Sounding Board will ensure that the voices of Tanzanian youth are heard in our collaborative efforts,” she said.

The YSB members were selected through a competitive process, starting with a call for applications which attracted over 700 applications. The selection process was conducted over several months, resulting in the appointment of 25 talented youth who were chosen based on their expertise, experiences and engagement on youth affairs.

Ambassador Grau elaborated on various collaborative areas including business and trade, investments and inclusive development.

“Through our Global Gateways approach, we want to support our partners such as Tanzania to build the capacity, the networks and the bridges necessary to join the global markets as equal, unleashing the economic development potential of the country,” she added.

In his remarks, Minister for Finance Dr Mwigulu Nchemba acknowledged the EU as a key strategic partner, noting the substantial financial support for Tanzania. He said Tanzanian government has received support amounting to 6.4trn/-(2,394m euros) as grant and 1.5trn/- (573m euros) as concessional loans from the European Investment Bank.

“We equally appreciate the EU’s significant support through regional frameworks such as the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community. The EU's commitment to uplifting African nations through these partnerships has been instrumental in our development journey,” he said.