Organised by the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA), the conference which was previously set to be hosted in December 2013 in Malawi, will be held from 25– 26 September in Mauritius.
Catherine Masunda, Youth2Youth Founder said plans were at an advanced stage to ensure that the youths attended the conference as a means of facilitating youth involvement in the development of tourism in the region.
“We are currently mobilising for their airfare considering that we have already secured funding for all the other expenses," said Masunda.
"We are appealing and hoping that corporates and individuals will support us and donate and participate in the organisation's fundraising activities as a way of appreciating the importance of the conference in promoting regional integration and a single vision for developing tourism among youths.”
Masunda said her organisation was hosting a dinner to fundraise for the initiative this week at Rainbow Towers in Harare.
“Tickets for the dinner are $50 per head and $500 for a table of 10. We are appealing to Zimbabweans from all walks of life to support this initiative as a means of promoting youths participation in initiatives that promote youth participation in tourism development,” said Masunda.
Set to be hosted under the theme “Promoting Sustainable Youth Development through Tourism,” the conference is open to youths from the 15 RETOSA membership countries.
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) body, RETOSA is responsible for the development and growth of tourism in the region.
The regional body recognises that youths constitute emerging leaders of their communities and as a way of implementing its mandate, RETOSA is initiating targeted measures to facilitate sustainable youth development by creating a tourism platform for the young people in Southern Africa.
One such initiative is the upcoming youth conference.
Through these platforms, RETOSA hopes to facilitate employment creation and poverty alleviation through tourism.
This year’s event aims at facilitating the mainstreaming of tourism into the education system across the region, promoting youth involvement in the development of tourism and promoting regional integration and a Southern Africa, single vision among the youth.
Read a statement issued by RETOSA, “This year’s event aims at promoting in the region the use of tourism as a vehicle for employment creation and poverty alleviation in RETOSA member states.”
RETOSA membership comprises of Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
For donations and dinner tickets, contact Catherine Masunda on mobile +263 773 848 321 or masundacatherine@gmail.com
Post published in: News