AWAFY’s Speech on International Youth Day
On International Youth Day, which falls on August 12 of each year, we, as grassroots youth organization, AWAFY, pause for deep contemplation and careful reflection on this special day. We do not only celebrate and commemorate but also renew our pledge that we will remain at the forefront of efforts to enhance the capabilities of Sudanese youth in all fields and empower them to lead our societies toward prosperity and comprehensive sustainable development. We are the sons and daughters of a generation that has known oppression and violence in all its forms, wars, and deprivation. However, we have not stopped dreaming of a just and sustainable peace, and we will not relinquish these legal and natural rights.
On this special day, AWAFY affirms that Sudanese youth today are not merely a numerical force, but a tremendous societal, political, and intellectual force, shouldering the task of reshaping the present and building the future. Bitter experiences in our country, which has been suffering from the yoke of the April War for more than two years, have taught us that sustainable positive change is not granted, but rather achieved through awareness, organization, and collective action under a broad framework of principles and values that respect human dignity and safeguard human rights.
Through our youth organization, we say it loud and clear: The marginalization of youth and their exclusion from decision-making positions is not only a huge political gap with consequences, but it is a crime against the nation and its future. Sudanese youth have the right to be an integral part of policy formulation. They have the right to have their unlimited energies invested in development and construction, not in wars and conflicts. They have the right to have their voices heard in negotiating halls and decision-making spaces, just as they are heard in the streets of resistance.
On this day, along with youth around the world, we affirm that our issues are inseparable from global efforts for economic, social, and human rights justice. We emphasize our absolute rejection of all forms of discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or class. We believe that the strength of our Sudanese societies lies in their diversity, and that Sudan’s future will only be built on inclusive foundations that leave no one behind.
So, let us, Sudanese youth, turn this day into a new stage of serious work, expanding our circles of organization and advocacy, strengthening our efforts and collective action, and creating safe spaces for young men and women to express themselves, create, and take initiative. Sudanese youth are not waiting for a future; they are the vibrant present that shapes tomorrow and writes its history.
AWAFY Sudanese Organization
August 12, 2025