CRIDOC Team leader, who is also a youth activist and national Coordinator of the Youth Act Alliance – Malawi Chapter, Edward Phiri, made a solidarity speech on behalf of the Malawi delegation in Manzini, Swaziland.

His speech centred on ending child marriages in accordance with SADC model law, youth employment and empowerment based on the African Youth Charter and African Union Youth Decade Plan of Action including tax justice.

He further called on the Peoples Summit to ensure that issues of youth and children are prominently featured in the communique as a sub-theme and ensure that the summit also develops a road map for easy follow-up of issues other than coming with new issues, as the 2015 issues remain unsolved.

The youth representative was invited to be a panellist at ZIMRIGHTS breakaway session on governance.

The 2016 SADC Peoples Summit was held under the theme “A peoples-driven SADC committed to total liberation for all.”