Luanda - The first day of the third Biennale of Luanda was marked by the presence of several African statesmen and other figures as speakers, who interacted with young people from various African countries on varied topics.

The first session was marked by the panel entitled "Young people, actors in the promotion of a culture of peace and social transformation on the continent/High Level Dialogue".

Following the opening ceremony, the presidents of Angola, João Lourenço, Cabo Verde, José Maria Neves, São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, and of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, answered questions posed by young people from various African countries on topics related to peace, education, environment, economic development and technology.

For almost three hours, the panel of speakers that included the former presidents of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, Malawi, Joyce Banda, and the African Union counselor, Kgalema Motlanthe, clarified the young people's concerns on the above said issues.

Answering a question about Angola's contribution to reducing polluting gases, the Angolan president João Lourenço, announced that a project to exploit Green Hydrogen would begin next year in his country, in northern Bengo province.

The Angolan Head of State explained that the project will be developed by the State-owned oil company Sonangol and the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas and in partnership with a German company, with the aim to supply the domestic market and to export green energy to Europe and other consumers around the world.

João Lourenço said Angola is due to sign an existing initiative on the need to decarbonise oil and gas at the COP 28 summit in Dubai in November.

The Angolan president said that in addition to this United Nations’ initiative, there are others from international institutions that Angola intends to join, to enable its oil and gas industry to soon have the capacity to measure carbon hydroxide emissions and reduce carbon dioxide and methane gas emissions as much as possible.

The Head of State of São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, on his turn, underlined the need to train young Africans to be promoters of peace.

According to Carlos Nova, the capacity of young people must be strengthened individually and in youth organisational structures to enable them more easily contribute to a better world, "guaranteeing this culture of peace".

The President of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, on his side, spoke of the need Africa has to provide more opportunities for young people on the continent to contribute to the development and transformation of talents.

José Neves underscored the need to democratise access to education, secure the transformation of education  to acquire knowledge in the most diverse areas, so that every young African can have the necessary tools to grow and contribute to development of the continent.

The former president of Malawi, Joice Banda, said the inclusion of young people in the peace process is inevitable, citing the former revolutionary independence leaders as an example to be emulated.

The former President of Mozambique and African Union counselor, Joaquim Chissano, said that technology doesn't work on its own, which is why he advocates investing in the training of men and women.

The President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, defended a greater commitment to education to prevent conflicts and violence on the continent, underlining the need to invest in the education of men and women as a means to achieve peace and development to put an end to weapons by 2030.

Opening ceremony

In his opening speech, President João Lourenço said the creation and consolidation of a culture of peace in Africa needs to be a fundamental step towards establishing the climate and conditions essential for African peoples and nations to dedicate themselves to the tasks of promoting progress and development.

For the Angolan statesman, only in this way will nations be able to face and overcome the challenge of fighting poverty, which is, after all, the continent's biggest problem and the one that makes it vulnerable to the greed and arbitrariness that underlies it.

The biggest challenge, Lourenço said, is the need to properly define development strategies and programmes based on the use of available resources, the creation of dynamics to boost exchanges at all levels, trade, and the use of technical and scientific knowledge in each country and region to generate growth.

The Angolan president said he is fully aware of the complexity of the task and that Africa should not give up on it, since there is the need to secure a promising and prosperous future for future generations, who will have to continue the work started.

"We must also make a huge effort to protect our markets from external shocks and strengthen them on the basis of national development programmes based on the unavoidable need to diversify the economy, in order to make it more resilient by harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit of our people," Lourenço said.

The third Biennale of Luanda continues Thursday with the following panels, "The role of women in peace, security and development processes", "The process of transforming education systems: innovative practices and funding in the African context",”.

The challenges and opportunities of integrating the African continent and the prospects for economic growth" and "Climate change, ethical challenges, impact, adaptation and vulnerability". ART/AMP