President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih stated on Sunday that the administration’s efforts to address youth-centric issues are yielding positive results. He made the statement while speaking at the official function held at the Maldives Centre for Social Education (MCSE) to mark National Youth Day.
The First Lady, Fazna Ahmed, Vice President Faisal Naseem, cabinet ministers, and senior officials from sports associations joined the President at the function.
Speaking at the function, the President highlighted a research paper titled "Disengagement of Maldivian Youth," published by the Maldives National University (MNU). He emphasised that a holistic approach was critical to address the prevalence of substance abuse, gang violence and crimes among young people.
The President spoke about the strategic inter-agency collaborations led by the administration to combat these issues and noted the lack of higher education opportunities and jobs as factors that drive young people towards criminal activities.
He stated that the administration’s initiatives, including the "Free Education Scheme for Degree Students," apprenticeship programmes and job creation through state-owned enterprises (SOEs), are producing positive outcomes. The President also stressed the administration’s efforts to address mental health issues and illnesses, especially among young people.
The President presented awards to this year’s Youth Awards recipients at the function. Ten individuals received the award this year. Vice President Faisal Naseem launched MNU’s research paper on the state of the nation’s youth. A summary of the report was presented by Dr Aishath Shehnaz, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of MNU.
October 22 was designated as National Youth Day in 2020.
