ROBERTSPORT, Grand Cape Mount County — The Boakai administration has unveiled a sweeping new youth policy aimed at tackling Liberia’s deepening unemployment crisis and giving young people real power in shaping national development.
Unfolding at a national summit in Robertsport on Wednesday, the launch of the Revised National Youth Policy and Action Plan marked a major shift in the government’s approach to youth empowerment—moving away from symbolic gestures and toward what officials called “structural commitments.”
Presidential Press Secretary Atty. Kula Fofana, speaking on behalf of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, said the policy responds directly to the urgent needs of Liberia’s young population and seeks to transform their role in governance, the economy, and public life.
“This is not just an administrative event,” Fofana said. “It is a milestone in the national conversation about youth empowerment—an opportunity to reimagine the role of young people in shaping the destiny of our Republic.”
Delivered under the theme “Vision to Action: A Youth Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Development,” the new plan emphasizes equity, innovation, and accountability—while anchoring itself in the Boakai administration’s broader ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
Fofana said President Boakai views Liberia’s youth not as a challenge, but as the country’s most valuable resource.
“President Boakai believes, as do I, that a nation’s greatest wealth is not buried beneath its soil, but thrives in the hearts, minds, and talents of its young people,” she said.
Among its key pillars, the revised policy calls for:
– Expanding access to technical and vocational training
– Creating sustainable jobs linked to agriculture, ICT, and green energy
– Investing in 21st-century education aligned with labor market needs
– Ensuring inclusion of women, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups
– Shifting decision-making power toward youth leadership
“It requires real investments in education—not just schooling, but learning that prepares our youth for the demands of the 21st-century economy,” Fofana noted.
She warned that temporary fixes and lip service won’t solve the crisis.
“It requires tackling youth unemployment not with short-term programs, but through coordinated job creation strategies,” she said.
Fofana also acknowledged the complex realities young Liberians face—from girls balancing school and early motherhood, to boys lured into street survival, and rural youth responding to climate change with little support.
“This moment challenges us to move beyond slogans. ‘Youth empowerment’ must no longer be a ceremonial phrase—it must become a structural commitment,” she said.
A significant feature of the policy is its focus on redistributing power, not just extending invitations to young people, but giving them platforms to lead.
“To those who ask if this generation can deliver, I say—they already are,” Fofana asserted.
She praised youth for leading pandemic awareness campaigns, launching small businesses, holding government accountable, and organizing for electoral transparency.
“This is the generation refusing to be silenced or sidelined,” she said.
Fofana urged policymakers and partners to align the new policy with international frameworks such as the African Youth Charter and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, while grounding it in data and the realities on the ground.
The Robertsport summit drew national and international stakeholders, including Youth and Sports Minister Cllr. J. Cole Bangalu; Grand Cape Mount County Superintendent Foday Kiatamba; City Mayor Thomas Bai Massaquoi; and Paramount Chief Haji Sombai.
Representatives from UN Women, UNFPA, ActionAid-Liberia, and several diplomatic missions attended, alongside statutory youth organizations such as the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY), the Liberian National Students Union (LINSU), and the Mano River Union Youth Parliament (MRUYP).
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