Peace Ambassadors the Gambia (PAG) during the weekend held its 6th edition of International Youth Summer School (IYSS) camp held at the Gambia College in Brikama.

The IYSS is an annual event organised by PAG and the objective is to engage youths and people working with young people across the world in gainful activities and issues that directly or indirectly impact on their lives. With the theme, ‘In the search of peace for Africa’, the event is also meant not only to provide an opportunity for participants to choose a career or improve their status, but to improve performance and instill new hopes in them.

Speaking at the ceremony, Isatou Bittaye, PAG coordinator and chairperson of the occasion, stated that the goal of the summer school is to enhance political and cultural tolerance among people, thereby promote peaceful coexistence of all human beings. “It is evident that humanity has been facing the worst of times for the past decades; so many innocent people have lost their lives, properties destroyed and relationships shattered. Human beings have the ability to think positively in order to resolve our differences peacefully, but violence is always used as a means of resolving conflicts. The consequences of violence are numerous and always dangerous,” Bittaye remarked.

She went on to note that many people, especially children and women, have lost their lives and livelihoods because of violent conflict; whilst millions of people are going to bed without food to eat.

Lamin M Sanyang, the president of PAG asserted that as an organisation, they have over the years realised the need for the world, more so the young people, to redirect and refocus efforts and actions towards the attainment of world peace. He described peace as the world’s greatest challenge and that until collective and concerted efforts are put together, it will remain the biggest challenge to be ever faced by the world.

Sanyang noted that the younger generation should be taught peacemaking and building ideas that solve simple day-to-day conflicts in communities at tender age, so as to enable them change the world, since the future belongs to them. “Educationists and peace advocacy organisations like PAG should continue to design peacemaking and peace building curricula to be taught in lower level schools.

This will enable young people to understand the purpose and concept of a peaceful co-existence at tender age, and will grow up knowing how to solve bigger conflicts, challenges and their differences without the necessity of being violent, which could sometimes confuse them when they become mature and learn to reason,” Sanyang added.

For his part, Baboucarr Bouy, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE), said in search of peace in Africa, the young generation should be studious and ready to take responsibility of their destiny. “You should be seen involved in academics and technical areas in a determined bid to map and structure the life pattern Africa will eventually adopt to march the developed world,” he posited.