Luanda - Luanda - The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, said today that it is a duty to believe, without hesitation, in youth, providing real opportunities for active participation in the construction of societies to solidify a culture of lasting and resilient peace.
The Angolan statesman was speaking this Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the III Edition of the Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace - Biennale of Luanda, in the Angolan capital, with the participation of more than 850 guests, an event that will take place until Friday (24).
According to João Lourenço, it is a duty to create spaces for dialogue in which young people must be heard, their ideas understood and their contributions integrated to allow them to be actors of virtuous change.
'I believe that if we manage, with some effort, to achieve this goal, we will certainly have also been able to prepare citizens able to accept the confrontation of ideas instead of going for the confrontation on the basis of divergent ideas', he stressed.
It is in this perspective that the President of the Republic attaches 'a central importance to intergenerational dialogue', which, he added, has become a central reference of the biennial.
In his view, this intergenerational dialogue makes it possible to establish an exchange of ideas and a space for dialogue within which the combination of the wisdom and experience of the elders and the creative energy of the young can help to make the smooth and smooth passage of the witness from one generation to another.
João Lourenço said that the African continent is inhabited by a mostly young population that naturally has a set of aspirations and expectations regarding its future, which must be taken into account, always considering its role as a driving force of change, evolution, progress, development, and the construction of creative and innovative societies.
'The very nature of young people has its own dynamics and generates different approaches and visions depending on each generational group, a fact that must always be observed, with great attention, so that the needs and demands of each time are understood,' he said.
He stressed the need to find solutions, as far as possible, 'to avoid social tensions and attitudes that are often permeable to harmful ideas and socially and civically unacceptable behaviour'.
On the other hand, in the chapter of inclusion, the Angolan Head of State stated that there is no longer room for reductive views on the place of women in our societies, in which they assume an increasingly active and recognized effective role in the execution of their professional responsibilities.
João Lourenço considered that, in their condition as mothers, they (women) can become true architects of a world of harmony, peace, respect, tolerance, understanding and love.
The Biennale of Luanda will be attended by the Presidents of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, and Ethiopia, Sahle-WorkZewed, as well as the Vice-President of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba, and the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, Manuela RokaBotey.
The Biennale of Luanda serves as a platform for the implementation of the 'Action Plan for a Culture of Peace in Africa - Let's Act for Peace', adopted in March 2013 in the Angolan capital at the Pan-African Forum 'Sources and Resources for a Culture of Peace'. ADR/DOJ
