Malawi hosts 9th African Population Conference
Malawi is hosting the 9th African Population Conference at the Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe. State President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera opened the conference on Monday, 20 May, 2024.
Happening under the theme “Road to 2030: Leveraging Africa’s human capital to achieve transformation in a world of uncertainty”, the conference will run from 20to 24 May, 2024. Delegates from across the continent have descendent upon Lilongwe for a packed five-day marathon of dissecting and synthesizing issues related to population in light of the drive to achieve the sustainable development goals agreed upon by the global community.
Speaking when he launched the conference, President Dr. Chakwera said: “Other continents in our world are struggling to sustain their labor market demands because they do not have young people to work in their industries that are critical to their economies including agriculture and food security. As such, Africa is perfectly poised to be a solution to this challenge if only we can remove our afro-pessimistic lenses and see that the youthful and enterprising population of Africa is a resource we must harness and equip to solve the sustainability problems that the aging populations of other countries are grappling with.”
The Union for African population studies (UAPS), which is the population-focused organization that represents all regions of Africa, bridging linguistic and geographical barriers to foster networking, knowledge sharing and learning across the continent, has led the organization of the conference.
The African Population Conference is one of the largest scientific meeting on population issues that examines the state and knowledge gaps regarding various aspects of population and development pertaining to the African continent. It has been happening since 1984 and is organized every four years.
The National Youth Council of Malawi has been part of the organizing team, playing crucial roles in ensuring that the conference is youth-friendly. Part of the conference is a Malawi Day happening on Wednesday, 22 May, 2024 where most of the leading participants, including those displaying pavilions, are young people. The Malawi Day is featuring discussions, events, foods, displays and cultural expressions that depict the Malawian way of life and perspectives.
The day has also been featuring a panel discussion titled ‘Youth Empowerment for Malawi’s Transformation: Building a Wealthy and Self-Reliant Nation through Meaningful Youth Engagement’. NYCOM Executive Director Mr. Rex Chapota is one of the discussants.