Communication and advocacy are important for the attainment of the Government's Vision 2030, Permanent Secretary for Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training Solomon Mhlanga has said.

Speaking while opening the Ministry's communication and advocacy strategy drafting workshop on Monday, where he was represented by the chief director, Mr Elias Murinda, Mr Mhlanga explained that with a robust communication and advocacy strategy in place, the Second Republic's initiatives of empowering the people would be achieved.

"Communication and advocacy is thus an essential ingredient required for the realisation of an upper-middle income society come the year 2030," said Mr Mhlanga.

"In this artificial intelligence infested world, communication and advocacy of an organisation has to be premeditated. We are now in that world where citizen journalism is becoming a major challenge to the mainstream media in as far as information dissemination is concerned.

"The new media technologies are allowing a number of individuals to set agendas, some good and some bad for the developmental discourse of our country. This is indeed a rising quagmire that requires various systems in place."

He said it was against this background that the ministry is now upscaling the operations of the Communication and Advocacy Department. A communication strategy would help in the attainment of the ministry's vision and mission.

"It is the role of the department to also promote overall knowledge and awareness of the ministry and its services to different external stakeholder categories.

"All communication to external stakeholders should be anchored on making the stakeholders feel involved and not alienated. We always say, 'Anything for the youths without the youths is not for the youths'," said Mr Mhlanga.