TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 122
#NextGenUNDP
Lionel Laurens
ZAMB I A
addressing large-scale, deadly epidemics, and people
were very frightened. But there I learned that the role
of a leader is to help people to conquer their fears and
find a purpose in supporting the country to confront
a crisis.
ZAMBIA: SUPPORTING YOUTH AND WOMEN
As Resident Representative in Zambia, I have chosen to
focus particularly on youth and women empowerment.
To harvest the so-called “demographic dividend” for a
prosperous and peaceful future, African nations need to
especially invest in young people and give them a vision
and hope.
This means paying attention to building economic
opportunities in key sectors such as agriculture,
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tourism, renewable energy, and manufacturing, as key
sectors, able to create sustainable jobs, while promoting
circular and carbon-free production models, and more
systematic waste reduction and recycling. In addition,
ground-breaking innovations and technology advances
offer unprecedented opportunities for digital solutions
to support the delivery of essential services and human
development. This calls for placing focus on empowerment, through skills building, entrepreneurship, active
citizenship, and gender equality.
I look forward to leading UNDP to forge, leverage,
and nurture partnerships with government, civil
society, and private sector entities, so that we
support Zambia together in achieving the sustainable
development goals. n