By Guardian Reporter , The Guardian
THE European Union (EU) in Tanzania has launched the Youth Sounding Board (YSB), an initiative aimed at amplifying youth participation and empowerment in key
areas such as the blue economy, human capital and employment, and governance.The YSB comprises 25 young leaders from the Tanzanian Mainland and Zanzibar who will advise the EU Ambassador to Tanzania and the EU delegation as well as Team Europe.
The YSB was officially launched at the Europe Day celebrations in Dar es Salaam, hosted by Christine Grau, EU Ambassador to Tanzania on Monday this week.
The event was attended by Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba, Minister for Finance, ambassadors, heads of missions, senior government officials, religious representatives and members of civil society and the media.
During the event, Ambassador Grau highlighted the EU's commitment to fostering youth engagement including through providing avenues for educational growth and international exposure, notably through scholarship programs 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 which 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.
Aside from the launch of the YSB, Europe Day celebrations underscored the strong EU – Tanzania partnership. 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.
Minister for Finance Dr. Nchemba acknowledged the EU as a key strategic partner, noting the substantial financial support from Tanzania.
He mentioned the Tanzanian government has received support amounting to 6.4trn/- (EUR 2,394 million) as grants and 1.5trn/- (equivalent to EUR 573 million) 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,” said Nchemba.
The Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania and the East African Community is a key actor in the relations between the European Union and Tanzania as well as the East African Community.
The EU has set out the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.
Global gateway is implemented jointly under the Team Europe banner, meaning the EU institutions and EU Member States.
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