Today, over 200 young people from around Africa and the Diaspora met in the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa Ethiopia for the AU Pre-summit to prepare, deliberate and put in concrete terms an agenda and message for the Heads of States summit in July in Equatorial Guinea focusing on young people with the theme "accelerating youth empowerment for sustainable development."

I am sitting on this seat and imagining which head of state had sat on it before, because we are using the same hall as the presidents when they meet in Head Quarters. I feel the anticipation in the air, everyone is so eager for the first and opening session to begin this first of day of April and deliberations continue until the 9th.

The speakers all emphasize the indispensable role young people are playing or need to play at enhancing the continent's sustainable development and their empowerment to this avail considering the fact that young people make up 40% of Africa's total population and are the most active too. The expected outcome from this high level consultation (April 1-2) will be to:

1. Arrive at a consensus on priority areas in need of accelerated actions by 2015 in line with the 2010 ministerial African position on Youth.
2. Proposals on possible strategies for promoting Public Private Sector partnerships in stimulating domestic resource for implementing youth development and programmes and plans.
3. Share youth perspectives on good practices in programming for results.
4. Propose common principles on mainstreaming Youth issues in monitoring progress towards development targets (comparative data on youth for advocacy and programming).

Great agenda and expected outcome, but I have an issue with it from the very start. The message is accelerating youth empowerment but I cannot help but to notice the limited number of young people in the panel. It is kind of strange when there are such talks of giving young people a chance and at the same time this is being contradicted.

Is the future being shaped for young people or are young people going being given a chance to shape their futures? This is a question yet to be answered.

When the AU or country does not give adequate support to young people to attend forums as such what are the expected outcomes? Will foreign bodies not fund these young people with their own hidden agenda? When therefore will the African agenda be brought to light?

Well, it is true that in the July summit young people will not be left in the corridors while the Heads of States deliberate, rather they will be sitting with them and sending their message across. Whose message is it going to be? A true representation of what the majority of young people want? A true message that meets the needs and aspirations of the African youth?

Well we have eight more days to find that out. But if things do not change from what am seeing then whatever we deliberate on, whatever declaration we come up with at this meeting will only have the fate those in the past have had…winding up in some dusty shelves in some office and this time, this resource, this energy once more would have gone in vain.

Well I am excited and I guess you equally are since for the first time we will have a chance to meet face-to-face with our Presidents. However, we need to be careful that we don't embarrass ourselves and show just how unprepared we are to take over the mantle of leadership.

It is therefore time to start walking the talk!