By Sheminah Nkhoma
Lilongwe, April 30, Mana: President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has urged the public and international agencies to invest heavily in Creativity and Innovation sector to achieve sustainable growth in the country.
Speaking during the commemoration of World creativity and Innovation Day on Tuesday at Bingu international Convention Center (BICC) in Lilongwe, Chakwera said it’s high time that Malawi as a nation puts effort towards developing the country in creative ways.
He said the country has many youths who are passionate about creating new things but lack financial support.
“We have a lot of skilled youths in the country so we need to invest in them because what they are doing on the ground in not enough. If we support them, surely we are going to develop their career.
“While we want to support the youth in their creative and innovative activities, our vision should extend from short to long term interventions. We ask donor partners to provide more support in this sector”, said Chakwera.
The president further urged people to be more practical than theoretical in creating innovative ways that can help develop the nation.
United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Rebecca Addah-Dontoh, said most vulnerable people are left out on issues of national importance, hence the need to have them included in creative and innovative activities if we want to achieve the Agenda 2063.
“We share a vision with the government of Malawi, so we need to scale up for greater impact in this initiative. Women, youths and people with disabilities should not be left out because they also have different skills which can help to develop the country” she said.
In 2002, the UN designated April 21 each year as World Creativity and Innovation Day, aimed at advocating and raising awareness about the pivotal role creativity and innovation plays in global development.
The first ever commemoration of World Creativity and innovation Day in Malawi was celebrated under the theme “Step out, Create and innovate for the Malawi We Want”.
