Our Director delivers Keynote remarks at MASP AGM

On 17 December 2021, Executive Director James Gondwe delivered his keynote address on the main stage at the Malawi Scotland Partnership Annual General Meeting held in Lilongwe, Malawi. During his speech, the Executive Director discussed the theme “Intergenerational Leadership, resilience through youth-led innovations”.

His core message was for both leaders and young people to embrace each other and work together. He highlighted;

“Amidst the challenges that Malawi is facing, it is increasingly the younger demographics who are standing out as a voice for hope and for the future we want to imagine. When leaders and youth engage and co-create policies, strategies, and opportunities the impossible becomes possible. Malawi needs to invest in youth and co-create, with them, their space to realize their potential and create opportunities to transform our country.”

Director James Gondwe

Also in attendance was the Honourable Ministers of Trade, Sosten Gwengwe, MP who presided over the function as the Guest of Honour.

Read Director Gondwe’s prepared remarks here.

The Malawi Scotland Partnership Annual General Meeting was a half-day meeting, combined in-person and virtual event for members to discuss the MaSP business and map the way forward.

The Malawi Scotland Partnership is a Malawian-owned and Malawian-led network that exists to support and develop Malawi’s many civil society links with Scotland, thereby enhancing the cooperation between Malawi and Scotland Government on one hand and the North and South on the other. MaSP help to coordinate, represent and support the many people-to-people and community-to-community links between Malawi and Scotland. MaSP is an independent, politically-neutral charity core funded by successive Scottish Governments. Malawi’s links with Scotland date back to 1859 and the travels of Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone. Today, more than 208,000 Malawians and  109,000 Scots are actively involved in community-led partnerships between our two nations. 46% of Scots -almost half the country- can name a friend or family member with a connection to Malawi, making this one of the world’s strongest north-south people-to-people links.