10/08/1998
DEAR MINISTERS
EXCELLENCIES
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
ON BEHALF OF THE ANGOLAN DELEGATION AND ON MY OWN NAME, I SHOULD LIKE, BEFORE ALL, TO CONGRATULATE YOU FOR THE ELECTION TO CHAIR THE WORKS OF TIES IMPORTANT ASSEMBLY THAT PRESENTLY ATTRACTS THE ATTENTION OF ALL THE WORLD MAINLY OF THE YOUTH.
YOUR CAPACITIES AND WISDOM MAKE ME BELIEVE THAT UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP, THE CONFERENCE WORKS WILL GET THE COVETED RESULTS, WHAT MEANS, THE RESULTS WILL BE A TRUE VICTORY FOR THE YOUNG GENERATIONS WHO, IN FACT, ARE CLAIMING FOR A "BETTER WORLD FOR EVERYBODY" IN THE FORTHCOMING CENTURY.
I SHOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNEMENT AND THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THE EXCELLENT INITIATIVE AND THANK HEARTFULLY THE WORKING CONDITIONS AND ALL FACILITIES PLACED AT OUR DISPOSAL.
EXCELLENCIES
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
THERE'S NO NEED TO EMPHASUE THE GREAT OPPORTUNITY AND THE
STRATEGICAL IM[PORTANCE OF THE HOLDING OF THIS CONFERENCE IN A MOMENT THAT THE MANKIND IS PREPARED TO TURN ONE MORE PAGE OF ITS HISTORY. WE ARE LEAVING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, A CENTURY MARKED BY TREMENDOUS CHANGES AND THE HOLDING OF GREAT EVENTS AND WE ARE PREPARING OUR ENTRY IN A NEW PHASE IN WHICH TOGETHER WITH THE
SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT, OUR ATTENTION MUST BE CENTERED ON THE HUMAM GENDER, WITH MAN IN THE CENTER OF ALL OUR ACTIONS HAVING IN ACCOUNT THAT THE DEVELOPMENT CANNOT BE ONLY DEFINED BY NUMBERS OF AN ECONONUCAL CONTENTS BUT ALSO AND MAINLY ON BASIS IN THE BENEFITS THAT THAT ECONOMICAL DEVELOPMENT
REPRESENTS FOR THE HUMAN BEING.
THE GROWTH AND THE ECONOM[ICAL DEVELOPMENT ARE ONLY TOTALLY VALID WHEN ABLE TO OFFER POSSIBLE AND LASTING SOLUTIONS THAT NUGHT LEAD TO THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.
EXCELLENCIES
ON LOOKING AT THE THEMES SELECTED FOR THIS CONFERENCE, WE ARE OBLIGED TO THINK OVER THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF THE MODERN WORLD, A WORLD STILL CHARACTERIZED BY DEEP DIFFERENCES EITHER AMONG COUNTRIES OR INSIDE THEMSELVES WHAT CAUSES VERY OFTEN CONFLICTS OF SEVERAL TYPES AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS.
THEREFORE AND BECAUSE THE HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, AIMS FOR A FAIRER AND MORE CIVILIZED SOCIETY, IT'S URGENT THAT MORE AND MORE WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE PROFIT FROM THE GLOBALIZATION AND SETTLE THE COOPERATION ON FAIRER BASIS SO THAT THE RELATIONS AMONG THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MIGHT PRODUCE A MUTUAL ADVANTAGEOUS EXPERIENCE.
GLOBALIZATION MUST BE SEEN AS A PHENOMENON THAT APPROCHES MEN, REINFORCING THE SOLIDARITY AND THE COMMON STRUGGLE FOR A BETTER WORLD FOR EVERYBODY WITH THE TOTAL CONVINCTION THAT MAN, EITHER IN AFRICA, AMERICA, ASIA OR EUROPE, IN THE POLES OR IN OCEANY ARE MEN AND CONSEQUENT LY BROTHERS, CHILDREN OF THE SAME MOTHER AND LIVING IN ONE ONLY HOUSE, THE EARTK THAT IS OUR HOME.
EXCELLENCIES
NOWADAYS EVERYONE AGREES THAT PEACE IS NOT ONLY THE NON EXISTENCE OF AN ARMED CONFLICT. PEACE CONNOT EXIST OUTSIDE A FRAME OF WELFARE, HARMONY AND JUSTICE. SO, IT IS QUITE IMPOSSIBLE TO SPEAK ABOUT PEACE WITHOUT SPEAKING ABOUT DEMOCRACY, ACCESS TO CULTURE, RESPECT BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND A SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, PEACE, DEMOCRACY, ACCESS TO CULTURE, THE RESPECT BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS ARE, TOGETHER WITH GLOBALIZATION AND COOPERATION, THE MARKS OF A MODERN LIFE, THE MAIN STONE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BETTER WORLD FOR ALL OF US.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
WE ARE HERE TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT POLICIES OF YOUTH IN OUR COUNTRIES AND TO REFLECT DEEPLY ABOUT THE WAY HOW TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR THE TERRIBLE PROBLEMS THAT THE NEW GENERATIONS WILL HAVE TO FACE WHEN THEY'LL GET THE RESPONSIBILITY TO LEAD THE DESTINIES OF THE NATIONS IN THE NEXT CENTURY. THE
QUESTION I ASK IS TO KNOW WHETHER WE HAVE DONE THE SUFFICIENT AND NECESSARY FOR THE CREATION OF CONDITIONS WHICH WILL PERM[IT OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN A STABLE LIFE IN THE WORLD, AS GOOD OR MUCH BETTER THAN OURS.
AS UNESCO SAYS "YOUTH IS THE MOST PRECIOUS RESSOURCE OF THE SOCIETIES" IT HAS A NATURAL MIND OPENING, IT IS DYNAMIC, GENEROUS, CRIATIVE AND ITS VISION FOR THE FUTURE, ALLOWS IT TO BECOME THE MOST ACTIVE GROUP IN ANY HUMAN COMIAUNITY.
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE READY AND WELLING TO FIGHT FOR A BETTER FUTURE WHERE THERE PREVAIL THE SOLIDARITY, COMMUNITARY SPIRIT AND HUMANISM. BUT FOR THAT IT IS NECESSARY THAT THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GIVEN THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES OF PARTICIPATION AND IT IS ABSOLUTELY PRIORITARY TO LISTEN TO TBEK TO DIALOGUE WITH THEM AND THUS ALLOW THEM TO BE BORN AGAIN AND DEVELOP FREELY THEIR AUDACIOUS CRIATIVE SPIRIT. YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE A WORD TO SAY IN THE PREPARATION OF THE BASIS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE SOCIETY, THE SOCIETY OF THE NEXT CENTURY WHICH RIGHTLY THEY BELONG TO.
THE PROBLEMS OF THE YOUTH ARE IDENTIFIED AND THEIR SOLUTION IS ESTABLISHED IN THE CONCRETE PROPOSALS IN THE PROGRANBffi OF THE WORLD ACTION FOR THE YOUTH TILL THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND APPROVED BY THE UNITED NATIONS. IT IS OUR DUTY NOW TO FACE WITH A POLITICAL WELL THAT PROGRAMNM TO FIND A REALISTIC, CORRECT AND USEFUL
STRATEGY AND TOGETHER TO ASSUME THE COMPROM[ISE, UP NOW, TO PAY A GREATER ATTENTION TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE YOUTH IN OUR COUNTRIES THAT IN A GENERAL WAY ARE CONCERNED WITH EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, TRAINING, POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION, HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, DRUGS, LEISURE, IN ALL, TO THEIR HARMONIOUS SOCIAL
INSERTION.
IN ANGOLA, MY COUNTRY, BESIDES THE PROBLEMS OF THE PAST AND THE RESULTING STATE OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN WHICH THE MAJORITY OF OUR POPULATION LEES, WE HAVE GREAT DIFFICULTIES TO SATISFY THE FAIR ASPIRATIONS OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE, THE SITUATION HAS GOT EVEN WORSE DUE TO A DEVASTING WAR THAT REIGNED OVER THE COUNTRY UP 1992. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THAT WAR WE HAVE PRESENTLY MORE THAN EIGHTY THOUSAND ORPHAN CHILDREN, MORE THAN HUNDRED THOUSAND HANDICAPPED PEOPLE, BEING THE GREATER PART YOUNG ONES; SIXTY PER CENT OF THE INFRASTRUTURES, (LIKE SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND OTHERS) HAVE BEEN DESTROYED; EIGHTY PER CENT OF THE POPULATION LIVE DISLOCATED FROM THEIR ZONES OF ORIGIN IN A TREMENDOUS AND HARD
RURAL EXODUS; THOUSANDS OF ANTI PERSONAL M[INES AS WELL AS ANTI-CAR ONES ARE IN OUR SOIL
FREQUENTLY IN ZONES OF GREATER AGRICULTURAL RESSOURCES; WE HAVE A WRONG ECONOMICAL SYSTEM AND ABOVE ALL, A SUFFERING, POOR POPULATION WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRAUMAS.
IT IS IN THIS FRAME THAT THE ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO REBUILD THE COUNTRY FROM RUINS, HAVING IMPLEMENTED SINCE 1989 A VAST MOVEMENT OF POLITICAL, ECONOMICAL AND JUDICIAL CHANGES AS WELL AS STRUCTURIAL ONES.
THESE TASKS HEVE BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT, BUT THE ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT GOES ON DETERMINED TO FULFILL THEM HOWEVER DIFFICULT THEY MIGHT BE. THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING AND DETERMINED TO GIVE THE ANGOLANS "THE PEACE THAT THE PEOPLE ARE AIMING AT".
IN THIS CROSSWAY THE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY HAS HELPED US GREATLY AND THEREFORE WE ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL.
MR. CHAIRMAN
EXCELLENCIES
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
HAVING IN ACCOUNT ALL THINGS I'VE TOLD YOU TILL THE MOMENT, ANGOLA HAS NOT YET DEFINED A STATE YOUTH POLICY CONSIDERED LIKE A GLOBAL STRATEGY OF INTERVENTION AIMING TO PROMOTE THE TP-AR41NG AND SOCIAL INSERTION OF THE YOUTH, AS WELL AS ITS PARTICIPATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIETY IN ANGOLA. HOWEVER, THERE EXIST
SECTORIAL POLICIES CONCERNING THE YOUTH, WHICH DO NOT ALWAYS AND RARELY AGREE; AND IN THOSE SECTORIAL POLICIES THERE I-LAVE PREVAELED EDUCATION, CULTURAL AND RECREATIVE PERSPECTIVES, WITHOUT BEING GIVEN A GREAT ATTENTION TO THE SOCIAL, ECONOMICAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES.
THE ATTENTION OF THE ANGOLAN STATE TO THE YOUTH MATTERS HAS CENTERED IN ISSUES LIKE:
* OCCUPATION OF FREE TIMES
*PROMOTION AND SUPPORT CONCERNING YOUTH ASSOCIATIONS
*PERMANENT STUDY OF THE YOUTH PROBLEMS.
THEREFORE SEVERAL BUT NOT MANY ACTIONS HAVE TAKEN PLACE RELATING THE DEMANDS OF THE YOUTH, BUT OF SOME IMPORTANCE, HAVING IN ACCOUNT THE GREAT CRISIS THAT OUR COUNTRY IS FACING.
MR. CHAERMAN
IT'S A GREAT HONOUR TO BE HERE AND PARTICIPATE IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY IN AN EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCES AMONG REPRESENTATIVES OF SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS OF THE WHOLE WORLD. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO MEET IN THE CAPITAL OF A COUNTRY WHOSE CITIZENS FIVE CENTURIES AGO, HAVE CROSSED THE SEAS IN ORDER TO MAKE SHORTER THE LONG DISTANCES AMONG PEOPLES OPENING THE WAY TO THE SO CALLED GLOBALIZATION. IT
IS CALLED TO MAKE THE BEST IN ORDER TO PRODUCE NEW IDEAS WHICH COULD LEAD US TO A GLOBALIZATION MORE AND MORE HUMAN AND HUMANIZING WITHOUT COMPLEXES AND DOMINATING INTENTIONS. LET'S SHAKE HANDS, LET-S UNITE OUR FORCES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BETTER FUTURE MAINLY TO THE MILLIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE
PRESENTLY FACING THE HARDEST LIFE CONDITIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD.
THEIR EYES ARE FACING US AND THE YOUTH BELIEVES IN AN INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP IN THEIR FAVOUR.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH