A youth group, the Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI) has called on youths in Anambra State to refrain from crime and vices, and always be at the vanguard of advocating for positive developments in their communities.
The Executive Director of CATYCOI, Mr Nonso Orakwe advised during a 2-day training of 30 youths on policy advocacy with support from Nigeria Youth Future Fund and LEAP Africa in Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Area of the state.
At the training, participants were taken through courses on advocacy, mapping of stakeholders, processes of lawmaking, and how to draft policies, among others.
Orakwe explained that the training was to equip youths with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively promote their causes and influence decision-makers in society.
“We are talking about policy advocacy. We want to prepare young people to be proactive and at the helm of policymaking.
“The training is to make them understand how laws are made and the reasons everybody should put heads together in advocating for policies that would engender good governance to move the country forward,” he said.
One of the facilitators and staff of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Antonia Obi, during her lecture on Legislative Processes, introduced the participants to the stages and principles of drafting legislation and policy documents.
“With this, when they see legislation, they should be able to know if it was properly drafted or not. Also, they should be able to know the stages of lawmaking both at the national and state levels,” she told TNC correspondent.
Arinze Egoh, another staff of the State House of Assembly, took the participants through government budgeting and budget processes, encouraging them to leverage the opportunity to hold their leaders and representatives accountable.
Egoh who encouraged them to always scrutinize government spending, urged them to criticize the government objectively and remain focused to attain their life goals.
Earlier, CATYCOI Programs Manager, Israel Orji, tasked the participants to leverage the opportunity of contributing to nation-building and career growth.
According to him, “The agenda is to have active young people that can follow-up policies because most young people do not know the processes. We want young people to be active and follow laws and issues around lawmaking.
“They can now actively go to their representatives and tell them these are the issues we want you to solve and actually advocate for policies. If there are policies that are already in place or laws that are not actively working, they can then follow up individually or as cohorts.”
He said the group will work together to identify key issues that need to be addressed, develop strategies for advocacy campaigns, and mobilize support from the community to address them.
Some of the participants during interviews, said they are committed to making positive impacts and creating positive changes in their communities through policy advocacy.
Mercy Anakor, a graduate of microbiology, said she was privileged to have participated in the training, noting that she had nursed an interest in issues concerning youths and governance.
Elizabeth Ijele, a participant with a disability, said she learned about policy and advocacy, the processes of policymaking, and the steps in advocacy. “This training has empowered me and given me the knowledge that I need to identify issues in my community and be able to advocate for them to be addressed,” she added.
For Miracle Uzochukwu, the workshop has woken him up from slumber.
