Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé : “Young people need to be reassured and for that they need dedicated spaces”
Monday, 13 August 2018 16:08 
(Togo First) - Last Friday, Togo’s minister of grassroot development, craftsmanship, youth and youth employment, Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé met with various media including Togo First. This was ahead of the International Youth Day, held every August 12th, and which this year was themed “Safe Spaces for Youth”.
Togo First: Why did the United Nations decide to celebrate the International Youth Day?
Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé: The United Nations designated August 12, since 1999, as a day where youth’s full potential would be recognized as well as a day to celebrate youth’s major contribution to the development of our societies, of pacific societies most importantly.
The commemoration’s purpose is to promote youth’s effective participation in decision-taking process in our societies.
T.F: How does the government approach the theme picked for this year’s international youth day ?
V.T-D : This year’s theme is “Safe areas for youth”. First, what we must ask is “why the need for safe space for young people?”
Young people have their own needs, specific needs. They need to meet somewhere to discuss. They have potential and skills, and as a result need dedicated spaces to demonstrate this potential. Therefore, it is quite obvious for us to relate to this theme and encourage our leaders to pay more attention to the creation of spaces especially dedicated to young people.
This theme, for our country, is a true whistleblower urging us to boost strategies related to the creation of such spaces.
Since 2012, Togo’s government has become aware of the need to open spaces for youths. A program was actually launched to this end and it enabled the creation of around 15 youth-dedicated spaces. The latter allows young people to perform socio-educative and civic activities. This in turn helps them grow and easily integrate into socio-professional life.
I would like to congratulate and sincerely thank the country’s top authorities for having quickly apprehended the need to create these spaces and for continuously helping investment to be directed to young people.
Youth centers add to measures established by the government to secure young people’s future and help them become able citizens, active and involved in the country’s development.
T.F : In detail, what is the contribution of these centers to the government’s youth promotion strategy ?
V.T-D : Youth centers are multipurpose facilities aiming to facilitate youth’s flourishing and their socio-economic insertion.
At a youth center, it is possible to do socio-educative, sport and cultural activities.
It exist to make young people full citizens and help them unlock their full potential.
The youth centers of Amadohomé and Kara are good examples of such facilities which were both fully funded by the State.
There are also those of Mango, Dapaong, Sokodé that are being built, or even Tandjouaré, Gando…, and many more. This is a program that is being carried out progressively. We launch various activities at these centers; such as the Vacances Utiles (Useful holidays) program which will begin soon. The government wants actually for such initiatives to be launched throughout the year.
Interview by Octave Aholnko Bruce (Intern)
