Liberia Reaffirms Commitment to Regional Youth Empowerment at Historic MRU YouthConnekt Forum in Freetown
Liberia Reaffirms Commitment to Regional Youth Empowerment at Historic MRU YouthConnekt Forum in Freetown
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE – June 18, 2026 – Liberia has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and regional cooperation as the first-ever Mano River Union (MRU) YouthConnekt Forum gets underway in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The landmark three-day gathering has brought together young leaders, policymakers, innovators, entrepreneurs, development partners, and government representatives from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire under the unifying theme "One Region." One Generation. One Future."
The forum serves as a dynamic platform for young people across the MRU region to engage in meaningful dialogue, foster collaboration, and develop practical solutions to common challenges while shaping the future of regional integration and cooperation. In opening remarks, representatives of the United Nations, the MRU Secretariat, national governments, and youth leaders emphasized that the prosperity and stability of the sub-region depend largely on the ability to unlock and harness the enormous potential of its youthful population.
For Liberia, where more than 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25, the discussions underscored the urgent need to tackle persistent challenges facing young people, including youth unemployment, limited economic diversification, inadequate access to finance, climate vulnerability, and increasing social polarization that threatens peace and sustainable development.
Throughout the forum, participants highlighted three major calls to action aimed at transforming the lives of young people across the Mano River Union: Unleashing Youth Potential: Expanding entrepreneurship opportunities, strengthening skills development, promoting innovation, and improving access to economic opportunities for young people.
Ensuring Meaningful Youth Participation: Moving beyond viewing young people as beneficiaries of policies to recognizing them as active partners in governance, policy formulation, and decision-making processes. Strengthening Cross-Border Partnerships: Creating avenues for young entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders to collaborate beyond national borders to accelerate regional growth and shared prosperity.
The forum also placed strong emphasis on digital transformation, with speakers stressing that technology and digital inclusion are no longer optional but indispensable tools for economic advancement, competitiveness, and equal opportunity.
Entrepreneurship emerged as a key pillar of the discussions, framed not merely as a career path but as a mindset centered on creating solutions. Youth-led enterprises operating in sectors such as agriculture, logistics, technology, and creative industries were recognized as powerful examples of how young people are already driving economic transformation throughout the region.
Regional integration remained at the heart of the conversations, with participants calling for the removal of barriers that hinder youth mobility, including bureaucratic bottlenecks, limited market access, and constraints affecting cross-border trade. Liberia used the occasion to reaffirm its dedication to strengthening youth empowerment and promoting regional collaboration through several commitments, including:
• The relaunch of YouthConnekt Liberia as a permanent platform for economic empowerment, innovation, and youth policy engagement.
• The expansion of cross-border youth programs, partnerships, and shared initiatives across the MRU region.
• Ensuring that young people play meaningful roles in governance and decision-making processes at all levels.
• Supporting future MRU youth engagements, including Liberia's commitment to host the MRU YouthConnekt Forum in Monrovia in 2027. As deliberations continue, participants are expected to translate dialogue into concrete initiatives that advance entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, peacebuilding, and regional integration.
The message emerging from Freetown is both powerful and timely: One Region. One Generation. One Future. The future of the Mano River Union will be defined by the partnerships, investments, and commitments made today to empower the next generation of leaders and innovators.
