UN envoy to meet Nigerian youths

The United Nations Youth Envoy, Ms Jayathma Wickramanayake, has arrived Nigeria for a three-day working visit, says UNFPA Nigeria Office.

Mrs Kori Habib, Media Advisor UNFPA Nigeria, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

She said the envoy would be in Nigeria from Feb. 8 to 10, as part of a five-country official visit across Africa.

Habib said the visit aimed to provide a platform for young people’s voices to be heard and galvanise momentum to deliver on commitments to empower and enable young people to achieve their full potential.

She said that the envoy was scheduled to attend a Youth Town Hall Meeting in Abuja, have high-level meetings with Government officials as well as the UN System in Nigeria.

She added that the visit would also engage with young innovators who are at the frontline of using technology to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the visit.

According to Habib, Wickramanayake is appointed as the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in June 2017 at the age of 26.

“Wickramanayake works to expand the UN’s youth engagement and advocacy efforts such as sustainable development, human rights, peace and security, and humanitarian action – and serves as a representative of/and advisor to the Secretary-General.

“Originally from Sri Lanka, Ms Wickramanayake has worked extensively on youth development and participation, and has played a key role in transforming the youth development sector in her home country,’’ the statement read in part.