Juba-South Sudan, The Youth of South Sudan have been rallied to be patriotic, this call was made by the undersecretary at the Ministry of Peace-building, Hon. Pia Philip at the recently concluded Tukul Talks in Juba.

Hon. Philip Pia also used the occasion to call for youth empowerment saying that the young people of lack the requisite skills to turn the resources of South Sudan into fortunes. “If we address the issues of the youth, we will have total peace. The youth must have something to lose, their jobs, wives, kids, plots, businesses, and sustainability; livelihood skills is what the youth of South Sudan need” he stressed, He also noted that the young people must participate in the youth peace and security of South Sudan, stressing that peace is cultivated, nurtured, and harvested.

This has been the second edition of the Tukul Talks organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to sensitize the youth on their role in nation-building. The UNFPA country Representative Ademola Olajide said during the session that the youth have a greater role to play in nation-building. “It is important for us to be able to build the sustainable peace that will bring those elderly people in government to be able to talk to young people and reinvigorate that vision,” he said during the event held in Juba.

Amb. Lumumba Makelele, who spoke during the event advised the youth to focus on education and fight hunger, illiteracy which he termed as an enemy of the nation, he also asked them to prioritize their interventions in areas such as empowerment of women and girls, food security (agriculture) saying it  is a collective responsibility of everyone in the society and to ensure the environment is protected to mitigate challenges, “The youth need to unite against hunger, and illiteracy as these two are the enemies of the state, as well as make deliberate efforts to mitigate environmental challenges” he advised.

The UNRCO - Ai Peter Van der Auweraert, called the attention of the government to provide services to its citizens, he disclosed that there were close to three million children in South Sudan who do not have an opportunity to go to school, “There are three million kids who need access to an education, the youth also need to be given

the space to participate in the constitutional -making process of this country, it is important to bring the youth together, the young people in South Sudan must also step up and discuss their vision for the nation to serve as a foundation for nation building” he noted Mangar Maker one of the participants hailed the talks as a possible platform for sensitizing young people to denounce conflict. “Youth can prevent themselves from taking part in conflict that is how youth can take part in conflicts. they should give us a forum and then we as 

youth can talk about issues and how we can bring peace,” Managar stressed that youth should be given platforms where their voices can be heard rather than always hearing from the government.

The event attracted the attendance of youth from all the states and administrative areas with the hope of imparting knowledge for productivity.