Ebou Sowe, youth coordinator and head of the Inspectorate Department of the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSS), left Banjul, today, to attend the 3rd ECOWAS Youth Forum in Kombissiri, Burkina Faso.

In an interview with the Daily Observer, yesterday, Mr Sowe noted that the forum, which will bring together about 45 participants from the sub-region, is organised by ECOWAS in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Employment of Burkina Faso. He further revealed that it aims at analyzing constraints and measures to be undertaken in order to make sub-regional youth association movements more dynamic.

"I am of the conviction that this ECOWAS Youth Forum is of paramount importance to the development of Africa, particularly the youth. It is envisaged that it will discuss recommendations in order to make youth associative movements meet the sub-regional context and it will also favour exchanges between participants and representatives of organizations in charge of youth," Sowe stated.

Meanwhile, Mr Sowe has expressed gratitude to ECOWAS through the NYSS and the Department of State for Youth and Sports for organising what he describes as a platform that will enable youths to discuss pertinent issues to their development, the ECOWAS sub-region and Africa at large.

It could be recalled that the 2nd ECOWAS Youth Forum was held in The Gambia from August 7 to 12, 2006.