Berlin Conference raises hope for better Europe -Africa relations, Daily Graphic

The Youth Bridge Foundation (YBF), a youth advocacy organisation in Ghana, and the Europe Youth Parliament (EYP) have taken Europe-Africa relations to another level with the just ended first ever Euro-African Youth Parliament (EAYP) conference in Berlin, Germany.
Although Africa and Europe had a long standing relationship even before expeditions by European explorers, through to the various economic, political and cultural relations,  the  EAYP conference boosted relations between the two continents.
While the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) met in Brussels for the African-European Union Summit to discuss African-EU relations and to reinforce established links between the two continents, the EAYP conference also brought together more than 100 delegates from 51 countries from the two continents to discuss governance issues around the same time.
The EAYP conference created a platform for the youth from the two continents to deliberate on topics such as food security, immigration, human rights, environment and entrepreneurship.
Although the EYP, a project of the Schwarzkopf-Stiftung Junges in Europe, has existed since 1987, it was the first time it was collaborating with the YBF to host the first ever EAYP.
The delegates, who were constituted into eight committees, came up with resolutions, which were presented to the EU and AU. The committees were for Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Industry, Research and Energy 1 and II; Human Rights; Culture and Education; Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and Constitutional Affairs.
Some of the resolutions were on the need for Europe and Africa to strengthen their relationships through various means to benefit both continents.
In their resolutions, the committee on Foreign Affairs urged AU member states to restrict the influence of external investors and aid donors on their domestic resources and public policies.
The committee on Human Rights called for Africa-EU Strategic Partnership to strengthen the existing joint strategy in order to deepen co-operation and encourage the implementation of policies on migration.
The committee on Industry, Research and Energy said it had become necessary for European and African governments to create an enabling environment for future business leaders.
According to the committee, governments on both continents need to cut the bureaucratic processes investors go through before they can start businesses.
Expectations
Before the conference began, the delegates said their expectations included gaining more knowledge about the diverse cultures that had converged on Berlin and also to network.
The organisers said the conference was aimed at strengthening the cooperation between Europe and Africa and also to discuss issues of common interest to the two continents.
At the end of the nine days, the aim of the conference was achieved through the various discussions, team building activities and the resolutions that were presented during the General Assembly of the conference.
Commenting on the conference, the Executive Director of YBF, Mr Seth Oteng, said “the outcome of the conference was fantastic and unique; it exposed the delegates to the diverse backgrounds and cultures on the two continents.”
He stressed that the platform had become necessary because the youth were the future leaders, hence the need to groom them.
According to Mr Maximilian Kiehn and Mr Jonathan Engel, organisers from the EYP, the conference offered the platform for the exchange of ideas, irrespective of the diverse political and social environment.

Activities
Taking the diversity in culture and backgrounds into consideration, the session began with team-building activities, which gave the delegates the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their committee members.
A day after the team building, serious work began with in depth deliberations and discussions on the topics assigned to each of the committees.
Aside the committee work, participants also had the chance to talk about themselves and display their culture through their food and clothes.
The night, which was dubbed “Euro African Village”, gave the participants the chance to exhibit their national dishes such as pepper soup, yam, fufu, rice balls, pizza margherita and fried caterpillar.
Delegates did not only engage in committee work, but also visited popular tourist sites in Berlin such as the Berlin Wall, Holocaust Memorial and the Berlin Parliament.
At the end of the committee work, resolutions were presented, debated and voted on at the General Assembly which was held at the Berlin’s House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, at the opening ceremony of the General Assembly, the President of the Berlin House of Representatives, Mr Ralf Wieland; Minister for Youth and Sports in Ghana, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, and a representative of the African Union, Mrs Prudence Ngwenya-Sigwane, among many other dignitaries, were present to grace the unprecedented conference. During the sessions, delegates expressed lots of confidence in the processes and made important contributions to the various resolutions.
Experiences
At the end of the conference, delegates expressed gratitude to the organisers of the conference for the opportunity offered them to have a voice in governance issues.
Sharing their experiences, the African delegates said the conference had offered them a great exposure, hence the need to organise more of such programmes in their respective countries.
“It was such a great experience and such a great platform that has exposed me to a lot of issues and we the Nigerian delegates are hoping to present the resolution to our policy makers in our country,” Ms Oloade Aminat Opadare, a delegate from Nigeria, said.
A delegate from Ghana, Ebenezer Nii Martey,  said, “I enjoyed the well informed contributions that were made and I learnt a lot from them.”
“It has been the best session I have ever attended and I will learnt a lot,”  Anis Mercury from the Czech Republic said.
Writer’s email: salomey.appiah@graphic.com.gh