Banjul, The Gambia - Sixty-four young parliamentarians gathered in the National Assembly chamber together with implementing partners, National Assembly Members (NAMs), CSOs, partners from the media and young people across the country to observe the inauguration of the 9th National Youth Parliament.

Given the importance of the forum, the National Assembly Service accorded moral and technical support to the young parliamentarians in the application of legislative processes in a manner that imitates a regular business of the National Assembly.

Since its inception in 2002, the National Youth Parliament has involved youth from across the country to build their capacity in the three arms of the state and parliamentary democracy procedures with the aim to prepare and enhance their knowledge on leadership, governance, administration, policy advocacy, debate etc.

More than 50 percent of the global population are young people under 30, but according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, they constitute less than 2 percent of the world’s National Assembly Members.

The National Youth Parliament - The Gambia has 30 women representatives out of 64, this includes 7 nominated members from each region and a representative from the PWDs.

At the conclusion of the swearing in of the 9th National Youth Parliament and ahead of the sittings tomorrow and the day after, a motion to adopt a new logo that embodies the spirit and value of the NYP was adopted.

The National Youth Parliament (NYP) is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the UN Peacebuilding Fund (UNPBF) project.