The Summit has placed premium on the voices, hopes and aspirations of adolescents and youth as expressed by the youth themselves. To my friends and colleagues within the interest and professional groups in both the Government and the NGO community, the young persons of this region are asking us to listen, and to listen good. They are getting impatient and are no longer interested in a display of mutual admiration or recrimination. Over the years, they have had earful of diagnosis, have witnessed meetings and conferences devoted to them some with their participation but mostly without their involvement. They now want action.
Nobody knows where a shoe fits or hurts more than the person wearing the shoe.
I ask you, indeed I implore you all to work together for our children and our future. The youth are ready to take up the challenge, if we let them.