A ceremony to celebrate winners of the 2023 JCI Cameroon Ten Outstanding Young Persons was organized on Friday 13th October 2023 in Yaounde.

As of tradition, the Junior Chamber International (JCI) organizes worldwide a contest to reward ten outstanding young persons (TOYP) with a key focus on 10 impactful themes.

In Cameroon, the contest which took place this year after a long break paved the way to a final presentation and celebration of 10 brilliant youths.

The ceremony which took place on October 13, 2023, in Yaounde, precisely at the Nolanga center in Ngoa-Ekele, gathered officials of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education (MINJEC), leading Members of the National Youth Council of Cameroon, and a good number of youths which are engaged in various sectors of life.

As underscored by the current Director of the TOYP project, the contest aimed to unveil the talents of young people who wish to highlight their know-how in the different domains in which they excel.

Arsene Ndongo in his opening remarks also seized the occasion to thank all partners who granted a helping hand to the project this year. The Director of the TOYP project praised contributive support from MINJEC, the National Youth Council of Cameroon (NYCC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

On his part, the 1st Vice-President of the NYCC, in his key words said thanks to JCI Cameroon he experienced for the first time expressing himself in public and learned a lot.

According to him, several youths have to engage with JCI to add value to their social life experience.

The ruling President of JCI Cameroon, Boutchouang Nghomsi Chancelin who has been at the helm of this youth organization since January 2023 said the contest which takes place worldwide is a concept of JCI at large. It seeks to celebrate young persons who accepted to innovate, highlight their talents, and finance themselves in their entrepreneurial adventures.

Mr. Boutchouang outlined the fact that this competition transforms the mindset of young people as they are called on to demonstrate how they can in their way impact developmental issues.

« This program is to detect youths who are not yet well known to make them impact their environment and other young people. » He said.

The young and dynamic president of JCI Cameroon believes young people can uplift all sorts of challenges related to entrepreneurship and innovation, and be a strong force in the development chain.

Boutchouang Nghomsi Chancelin went further to encourage the laureates to build a sense of patriotism, and citizenship and be devoted to the development of the nation. He said JCI Cameroon stands firm on its ideologies and will keep impacting young leaders who dream of a bright future.

As concerns the TOYP selected, he said they received at the start 211 candidates, and after scrutiny, the jury committee chose 100, and later 30 candidates for the final stage and online voting process. The candidates were voted by the public on digital platforms.

Before officially launching the award of recognition, the president of the jury committee, Emile Desiré Singeh, JCI Cameroon Senator who by the way is the General Manager of a locally based enterprise, « Go ahead Africa » said the candidates had impressive projects, and the final selection who was granted to the public.

The winners of the contest are:

– Sylvie Njobati: cultural accomplishment

– Jacob Israel Doumkwe: Academy leadership and/ or accomplishment

-Tizi Pierette: contribution to children, World Peace and/or Human Rights

– Rouben Tamba: Business Economic and Entrepreneurial accomplishment

-Michèle Abe Belinga: Humanitarian and/or voluntary leadership

-Quentin Ambadiang: Political, Legal and Governmental Affairs

-Peter Mukong: Medical Innovation

-Ariane Tetchou: scientific and technical development

-Djafang Priscille: Moral and/or Environmental Leadership

-Boris Bangteke: Personal improvement and/or Accomplishment

One of the laureates, Peter Mukong who competed in the medical innovation category expressed words of thanks to JCI Cameroon.

He said it is an encouragement to be rewarded and to know that what he is doing with his team has a positive impact on communities.

The student engineer in Polytech Maroua, Far-North region came up with a fitness app that provides nutritional values and health benefits to the population.

« This app is to motivate people to carry out physical activities at home or anyway, in a bid to prevent non-communicable diseases related to this lifestyle issues such as hypertension, diabetes, etc. which are leading causes of premature deaths. »

The celebration ended in joy and merry, and the next appointment was taken for 2024.

Elise Kenimbeni