'Youth aspirations should be incorporated in national policies'

The ruling political party should materialise the commitments mentioned in election manifestos by incorporating youth aspirations in national policies, speakers said at a dialogue on Friday.

The dialogue on Electoral Commitments and Youth Agenda was organised in Rangpur by the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh in collaboration with Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Nagorik Uddyog and Jaago Foundation, said a press release.

Before 11th parliamentary elections, the political parties pledged to enhance capacity of the youth, create sufficient employment opportunities, formulate a policy for youth entrepreneurs and to ensure quality education, the participants said.

It is high time for the policymakers to reflect the youth aspirations in the national agenda and implement the election commitments, they added.

Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Convenor of the Citizen’s Platform, and Distinguished Fellow, CPD, delivered the keynote presentation at the dialogue.

In his presentation, Dr Bhattacharya noted that the youth are the catalytic agent of the development. They have the capacity to identify the challenges faced by society, and contribute towards mitigating such barriers with innovation. The policymakers should act properly to mobilise the youth power towards the sustainable development of the country.

The Mayor of Rangpur City Corporation Mr Md. Mostafizar Rahman attended the dialogue as Chief Guest. Freedom fighter Mr Akbar Hossain, Member of Central Committee of the SushashonerJonnoNagorik(Shujan), and Professor Malay Kishore Bhattacherjee,former Professor of Economics, Carmichael College Rangpur, as Guest of Honour, shared their views on youth development initiates in the country.

MrZakir Hossain, Chief Executive, Nagorik Uddyog, delivered welcome speech at the event. The dialogues was chaired by Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Core Group Member of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, and Distinguished Fellow, CPD.

The dialogue was attended by youth community from various academic institutions, professionals from non-government and civil society organisations, academia and media among others. They have shared their observations and comments on various issues related to the youth, SDGs and development process in Bangladesh.