Hon Ousman Conteh, The Program Officer of the National Youth Parliament, and clerk of Banjul Youth Parliament, recently returned from Durban, South Africa where he attended the International Youth Crime Prevention and Cities Summit, which lasted from 17 - 21 June, 2008. The Youth Conference, co-funded by the Provincial Government of Kwazulu-Natal and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN- HABITAT), was hosted by the former.

Speaking to the Daily Observer, Hon Conteh noted that the objectives of the summit centered on the prevention and reduction of crime and violence in cities, towns and villages. The youth and cities summit, he said, represents a very significant step for young people, regarding how they are perceived around the world.

Mr Conteh pointed out that the summit marked and celebrated some of the changes in the way young people see themselves and their role, some of the significant achievements of young people as actors and participants in urban life, and it also aims to shift the way the world thinks "about us, as children and young people who are actively participating in creating a better world, rather than as a problem-generation."

The theme of the conference, according to him, was "Youth and Children Championing Community Safety for a Better World". This, he said, seeks to develop an international framework for involving young people as active partners in community safety and crime prevention. "We want to understand the way in which young people are already helping to make their communities safer, and how governments can best partner with them and other organizations for crime prevention," he stated.

The national Youth Parliament's representative revealed that the Summit's overall objective was to develop an international framework for involving youth across the world on crime prevention and youth development, to formulate a multi agency platform for policy review and policy dialogue in relation to youth education and training and develop modalities based on the best practices that will empower youth to take control of their livelihood and destiny.