PRESS RELEASE:CLARIFICATION ON LEADERSHIP OF AYC SENEGAL NATIONAL CONSORTIUM

Friday, April 17^th, 2020

SUBJECT: CLARIFICATION ON LEADERSHIP OF AYC SENEGAL NATIONAL CONSORTIUM

The AYC Secretariat would like to inform the general public that, the pioneer member organisation of AYC Senegal National Consortium is ‘’Junior Chamber International (JCI) Dakar’’ with Mr. Moussa Fara DIOP as legal representative/focal point of the Consortium.

JCI Dakar is part of JCI global movement that challenges the status quo by inspiring young people to recognize their responsibility to create a better world and empower them to drive change. This youth-led entity joined the larger AYC family during the 3rd Annual General Assembly Meeting held in Banjul, The Gambia on March 26th, 2019.

Launched on the 27th of July, 2019, the AYC Senegal Consortium becomes the fourth in Africa officially mandated to implement activities at national level in alignment with AYC Strategic Plan 2018-2020, which outlines practical steps to create decent job and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, improve health services including comprehensive sexuality education in formal and non-formal education, promote human rights and deliver good governance, accountability and social cohesion at all levels as well as encourage inclusion and active participation of youth in the maintenance of peace and security in the country, at regional and continental levels.

The AYC National Consortiums are not an organisation or a replica of the AYC structure at national level but rather a platform composed of different youth-led and youth-serving organisations to provide youth friendly space and amplify youth voices in current policy and decision making processes. The works of the national consortiums are coordinated and supported by the AYC Secretariat through its Coordinator of National/Regional Consortiums.

We therefore would like to encourage all our partners to work with or channel their supports through the recognised member entity (s) of national consortium for proper management and accountability of resources allocated. In the same vein, as the AYC work through its member entities at national levels, we urge our partners to follow the internal processes and procedures of the AYC and stop engaging any self-proclaimed individual or self-appointed coordinator (s) who are not part of the legitimate structures within the AYC network.

In line with our core values of Pan-Africanism and Inclusiveness, the AYC Secretariat and member organisations of AYC national consortiums will continue to mobilise young people from all walks of life, promote their inclusion, participation and engagement in all projects and initiatives of the AYC at all levels to collectively achieve the Africa we want.

Signed

Kawsu Sillah

Executive Secretary

Email: ayc@auyc.org |Phone: +2209865300

Cc: Executive Chairperson, AYC

       President, Junior Chamber International (JCI) Dakar

       President, National Youth Council of Senegal

       Hon. Minister, Ministry of Youth and Sports Senegal

       All Heads of the AYC partners in Senegal

AYC participated in the Joint-Post Tana Regional Mutli-Stakeholders’ Forum in Dakar, Senegal

On 9-10 October 2019, the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS), the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), and the Gorée Institute jointly organised a two-day multi-stakeholder dialogue on the theme “Migration, Peace and Security: What Role for CSOs in Promoting Regional Integration in the Nexus of Migration and Free Movement of People”.

The forum, held at Gorée Island, Senegal, attracted over 40 participants from civil society, government, academia, international and regional organizations in 10 countries.

The AYC was represented by Mr. Moussa Diop, Commissioner of Political Affairs (Senegal) and Mr. Kawsu Sillah, Executive Secretary (Gambia).

The main objective of the dialogue was to explore migration and free movement of people in the nexus of regional integration, address the pros and cons of this discourse, and recommend practical operable recommendations for the AU, Member States, RECs/RMs and other stakeholders working on migration, peace and security.

The specific objectives of the forum were to:

• Assess the situation of migration and displacement in Africa and challenges posed;
• Discuss strategic approaches that protect the human rights of migrants and refugees in countries of destination, transit, and origin;
• Identify the critical role of CSOs on the topic.

Opening

In his opening speech, Dr. Yonas Adaye Adeto, Director, Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) acknowledged that the location of the Post-Tana Forum in Gorée Island was symbolic of the important historical legacy of migration in and out of Africa. ‘’The Tana Forum is a symbol of African intellectual independence, and the organization of dialogue foras such as the Post-Tana Forum is a useful space for key organizations such as ECOWAS to discuss and develop substantive knowledge and policies on migration’’, he said.

Dr. Yonas went on to highlight that the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa (Tana Forum) aims at bridging the gap between policy making and policy implementation by bringing together Heads of State and Government, experts, prominent personalities, leaders of international and regional institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector, eminent scholars, academics and socially engaged youth to discuss timely issues in a spirit of commonality and moral duty towards finding solutions to peace and security challenges facing the continent.

Accordingly to the director, the informal nature of the Forum lends a different approach to discussing security issues on the continent. ‘’The Forum is not intended to deliver official declarations; instead, it is stimulated by the desire to engage in fresh, candid and in-depth discussions on pressing peace and security issues to produce innovative ideas and open new windows of opportunities for solutions’’, he added.

He noted that in its 8th edition, the Tana Forum discussed “Political Dynamics in the Horn of Africa: Nurturing the Emerging Peace Trends” on 3-4 May 2019 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Further, he revealed that during this forum, national and regional stability in the Horn of Africa (HoA) was highlighted as paramount importance to the region’s peace and security agenda, serving as vital components of sustainable development objectives across the region. ‘’Among the various topics raised and discussed, the situation regarding migration and free movement of people in Africa and beyond emerged as an issue that requires deeper discussions and engagement with civil society institutions. This was the backdrop to this Dakar dialogue, which aimed to garner experiences and perspectives from CSOs and stakeholders active in this field, Dr. Yonas concluded.

Other speakers of the opening ceremony includes; Mr. Doudou Dia, Director, Gorée Institute; Mrs. Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane, Director, African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP); Professor Ndioro Ndiaye, Advisor to the President, Government of Senegal and Brigadier General Amadou Anta Gueye, Director, Centre des Hautes Etudes de Dfense et de Scruit/CHEDS/.

Panel Discussions

Mr. Kawsu Sillah, Executive Secretary of the AYC participated in a panel discussion on “Current Status of Migration and Displacement in Africa” which focuses on ► State and non-state actors and external responses to  migration (interrogating current policy frameworks, mediating efforts and their impact); ► Push and pull factors of migration and displacement in Africa; ► Implications of migration and displacement in Africa.

This panel was moderated by Mrs. Michelle Ndiaye, Director, Africa Peace and Security Programme, Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS). Other panelists were: Dr. Chukwuemeka B. Eze, Director, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) Mr. Ernest Lartey, Head of Conflict and Security Program, Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Center (KAIPTC) and Dr. Marie-Paule Kodjo, President, ONG Playdoo-CI.

The panellists discussed the political economy that creates structural factors conducive to migration. Dating back to the slave trade and colonial history to the modern-day era of globalization and neoliberalism, the current imbalance in global trade relations is furthered by African elites who lack the political will to keep African resources and talents within the continent. They argued that, in order to reverse this trend, bilateral and multilateral relationships should focus on African ownership over the exploitation of resources and industrialization.

They went on to identify both push factors (such as unemployment, climate change, insecurity and armed conflict) and pull factors (such as political stability, favourable economic and climatic conditions and attractive migration policies) as key to regulating and managing migration efficiently. They further noted that, migration is a cross-cutting issue relevant to a majority of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to them, the main references to migration are found in Goal 8 and Goal 10, which aim to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth” and “reduce inequality within and among countries” respectively. They highlighted that Safe and free migration and movement greatly contributes to closing the widening inequality divide by abiding to the SDG principle of “leaving no one behind.”

In conclusion, they highlighted that, adhering to multilateral frameworks and implementing them at the national level is necessary to tackle push and pull factors in a holistic way. ‘’One example is the Multilateral Cooperation Agreement to Combat Child Trafficking in West Africa, adopted by 11 ECOWAS member states in 2005. In Côte d’Ivoire, this has translated into promising initiatives resulting from collaboration with CSOs, such as advocacy campaigns informing the youth on the risks of migration, programmes to support the return of migrants, and the introduction of new laws such as compulsory education. Furthermore, national efforts should be increasingly coordinated with neighbouring countries to find common approaches to migration. This requires strong political leadership and regional integration. While migration is often portrayed negatively, it is a natural phenomenon that brings benefits when adequately managed and organized’’, they stated.

They collectively emphasized that; civil society actors should highlight the positive aspects of migration in order to contribute to the development of new policies that support migrants’ contributions to society. The role of civil society organizations is to engage in advocacy, accountability and action. The CSO actors have the unique ability to equip citizens with the necessary knowledge to hold governments accountable for the use of their taxes, and to push for more inclusive exploitation of national resources. To allow CSOs to play these roles, states have the responsibility to make civic space more conducive. While CSOs are often associated with confrontation, activism and advocacy against government policies, they can also benefit from increased professionalization, clearer mandates, and closer collaboration with the state.

Finally, they said, in order to better engage with the government on migration issues, CSOs should use social media efficiently and constantly engage with the government’s online platforms.

The following sessions were also adequately covered during the forum:

• “Strategic Governance Approaches to Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons” moderated by Dr. Yonas Adaye Adeto, Director, Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) with Professor Ndioro Ndiaye, Advisor to President, Government of Senegal; Ms. Sophie Nonnemacher, Deputy Director, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Senegal and Dr Edem Selormey, Field Operations Manager, Afrobarometer as panelists focused on Unpacking what works and what does not? ► Continental level; ► Movement from outside into the continent (external); ► Movement from the continent outwards; ► Intra-inter country movements (internal).
• “Migration and Free Movement of People in the Nexus of Peace and Security” moderated by Mr. Komlan Messi, Director, West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) with Ms. Sophie Nonnemacher, Deputy Director, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Senegal Mrs. Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane, Institute for Economic Development (IDEP) and Mr. Abdourakhmane Wane, National Coordinator, Migration for Development Programme, GIZ as panelists focused on ► Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and Free Movement of People: Opportunities and challenges; ► Free movement of people as a crucial element of continental integration (labour, security, socio-economic development, cultural, historical, youth, gender effects); ► Regional, country to country border and visa arrangements; ► Addressing the peace and security implications.
• “Migration, Peace and Security: What Role for CSOs?’’ moderated by Mr. Doudou Dia, Director, Gorée Institute with Mr. Ibrahima Aidara, Deputy Executive Director, Open Society Institute for West Africa Mr. Komlan Messi, Director, West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) Mr. François Traore, Democracy & Governance (Human Rights, IHL, Elections, Peace building, Security, Civil Society, Legislative Strengthening, Africa Development Bank and Mr. Koffi Dela Kepomey Fofo, Executive Director, National Concentration of Civil Society as panelists focused on ► What can CSOs offer? Involving CSOs as intermediaries between state, non-state, external actors and the general public in the formulation and implementation of public policies on regional integration, migration and free movement of people? ► CSOs’ experiences/best practices on the ground.
• ”Role of CSOs in the Security Agenda in Africa’’ moderated by Dr Chukwuemeka B. Eze, Director, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) with Mr. François Traore, Democracy & Governance (Human Rights, IHL, Elections, Peace building, Security, Civil Society, Legislative Strengthening) Africa Development Bank, Ms. Diago Diagne Ndiaye, President, ECOWAS Women’s Network and Mr. Koff Dela Kepomey Fofo, Executive Director, National Concentration Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile (CNSC) as panelists focused on ► Shaping partnerships and shared opportunities with CSOs and other stakeholders; ► Mapping out the ‘how’ to work together with CSOs and other stakeholders to shape security integration and increase impact/success; ► Practical operable recommendations for the AU, Member States, RECs/RMs and other stakeholders.

In the final session, the summary of outcomes and key takeaways were presented and adopted by the participants.

Outcomes of the forum:

• Civil society, government and development actors tend to work in silos, with government usually going to CSOs after making decisions, not before or during the decision-making process. More efforts towards policy dialogue are needed to achieve harmonious development.

• As actors at the grassroots level, civil society organizations are expected to monitor and advocate for the implementation of regional and international instruments agreed to by their governments. At the community level, CSOs have a key role to play – their proximity to local populations means they have access to critical information that decision makers can use, such as quantitative data on which areas need social services and gender disparities. Community dialogue facilitators have also been used to intervene in the prevention of conflict and violent extremism, and to strengthen social cohesion in communities.

• For women, migration is a means to increase their income, be empowered, and access an environment with less barriers to gender equality. However, female migrants are also exposed to intimidation, discrimination, sexual exploitation, xenophobia, and poor and unsafe work conditions. The gender dimension of migration and security should be fully acknowledged and addressed in policy discussions.

• Finally, regions seeing the most movement are not necessarily the most unstable; factors other than migration account for insecurity in those regions. CSOs have a comparative advantage to change the dominant media narrative about African migration, and they must strive to do so.

-End-

1. Download this Summary Notes in pdf
2. Download the Concept Note – English | French
3. Download the Agenda – English | French
4. Download the Forum Outcome Report – English | French

For more, visit the Forum website, here.

AYC participated in the African Youth Consultation on the Job Creation Campaign

African Youth Consultation on the Job Creation Campaign, held on the Margin of the AU Summit, 7 February at Intercontinental Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

On the sidelines of the African Union Summit, ONE Africa in partnership with the Office of African Union Envoy on Youth brought together young people from nine countries for a one-day African Youth Consultation on Job Creation. The 20 participants discussed how to mobilise young Africans’ opinions on key policy commitments and reforms that can enable African countries to create 1 million decent jobs annually by 2021. The meeting set the stage for reaching out to 1 million young Africans to drive the campaign.

The AYC was represented by Ms. Natalie Sonia Mukundane, Executive Chairperson and Mr. Kawsu Sillah, Executive Secretary.

Opening

The opening remark was delivered by Ms. Aya Chebbi, AU Youth Envoy. She thanked the participants for honoring the invitation to attend this important youth consultative meeting. She informed the gathering that the Republic of South Africa is chairing the AU in 2020 and the theme of the year is ‘’Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development’’. Ms. Chebbi noted that for younger generation,  ‘’Silencing the Guns in Africa’’ means; Silencing Poverty and Hunger, Silencing Youth Unemployment, Silencing Gender Based Violence, Silencing Corruption, Silencing Climate Crisis as these are some of the root causes for conflict and violence on the African continent. She challenged the young people to own this important campaign and create awareness around it.

Aya used the opportunity to introduce the participants to some of the legal instruments adopted by AU such the African Youth Charter and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, Governance Charter, the protocol for free movement of people, goods and services, as well as the structures of the AU, notably the Executive Council (composed of Ministers of Foreign Affairs) responsible for AU agenda setting before the General Assembly, AU Peace and Security Council similar to the UN Security Council, Permanent Representative Council (PRC composed of Ambassadors), Assembly (composed of Head of States and Government) and Specialized Technical Committees (STC on various issues such as Youth, Sports and Culture etc). STC meets every two years. 

Ms. Chebbi said the idea of this meeting is to bring the AU closer to the youth, advocate for move the agenda from youth peace and security to youth peace and development, inclusion of youth part of the Government delegation to attend AU’s summit (at least 2 representatives from each member state), encourage intergenerational dialogue and collaboration amongst youth-led networks (she applauds the African Youth Commission’s work in this area). The envoy noted that youth are not well organized in AU spaces and that need to be improved; youth need to co-lead with current African leaders for mentorship and leadership, need to strength working relationship between pan-African networks and finally encouraged collaboration between youth movement (African Youth Commission – AYC and Afrika Youth Movement – AYM). She thanked everyone for kind attention and wished them fruitful deliberations.

Edwin Ikhuoria, Interim Executive Director at ONE Africa, presented the Job creation – what we know from ONE campaign. In his presentation, he noted that youth work should not be done as usual and should be revolutionary, right investment should be done in youth as it’s time to empower them.

Mr. Ikhuoria highlighted that the drivers of war are, if the opportunity cost is not higher, then the likelihood of youth involving in conflict will be higher; if young people are not engaged/employment there will be a lot of Peace fund, stand by force and peace keeping missions in Africa. He emphasized that from 2020 the fight has to be an economic fight (job creation, economic empowerment etc); need to move from rhetoric  to action; the rest of the world is getting older and Africa is growing younger (2.5million enter in labor force from now to 2030); 10-12 million young people entering job market, only about 3million gets a job; five countries including South Africa faces youth unemployment with rising unemployment rate to above 40%; Urban youth are disproportionately affected by joblessness; but the real problems is that fewer decent jobs exist across the continent; informal sector creates most of the jobs in Africa (not mere jobs should be created but it should be decent jobs).

He went on further to identify the following 3 broad problems:

• Low business,
• High share of unemployable workforce and youth are not empowered
• Access to finance (to expand existing business or start a new one)

In addition, he revealed that the issue of electricity is also identified by African businesses as major challenge and Africa is most hit by climate change and yet it’s the least contributor.

As for ‘’what policies works’’,  Edwin noted, limited evidences; most finding are mostly often specific to their context; access to credit, prioritization of job creation, regulatory frameworks and entrepreneurship education, Infrastructure, youth leadership and digital divide (70% of Africa’s young people are not connected). He raised questions as to where will young people will be living? And the answers revealed that nearly 70% of the 15-24 olds live in rural areas (most of them are farmers); changing nature of work (technology/tech industry i.e Jumia) employed about 3000 people across Africa and almost 100.000 commission affiliates across the globe; sectors of highest potential to absorb Africa’s youth bulge (Agriculture and food system, business process outsourcing, transport and tourism, creative industry and ICT based services), and we should begin to think of exporting/outsourcing our expertise/services to other part of the world and put in place key policy imperatives for job creation in Africa.

What can donors do? How can Africa create 230 million jobs by 2030? How can we get solutions from 1million African young people? This discussion centres on the AU 1mBy2021 Initiative: Focus on 2 E’s Employment & Entrepreneurship and was facilitated by Nicholas Omondi Ouma of AU Youth Division.

Mr. Nicholas mentioned that this initiative is championed by the AU Chairperson to provide one million African youth with opportunities in education, employment, entrepreneurship and engagement.

Why the initiative? He said it is to accelerate what is been done and AUC is mandated through the Agenda 2063, and other frameworks to provide the following services to African youth:

• Education: scholarship, alternative pathways and models for teachers development
• Employment: skills transfer hubs, digital skills, job centres, internship and apprenticeship
• Entrepreneurship: Providing growth capital to SMEs, and nurturing startups
• Engagement: leadership programmes, exchange and volunteer programmes and youth engagement platforms

Following his presentation, participants recommended that the advocacy around the labour laws and minimum wages especially at member state levels should be intensified by the African Union Commission in collaboration with labour ministries.

Presentation: Transforming education for youth employment, Viridiana Wasike, CEO Accelevate Leads, Kenya

Ms. Viridiana said the Accelevate Leads focus on high growth and high value areas in Africa and increase number of young people in skills development in Africa. She noted most educated African youth are the most unemployed, and asked what are we not doing right?

She concluded that there is need to see how young people are consistent and committed to building their own development or network.  

The last presenter was Ms. Sonia Kwami, Campaigns Director at ONE Africa. Her presentation focuses on ONE Africa’s youth campaign called ‘’Youth manifesto on job creation’’. She took the participants through the campaign strategy on job creation and entrepreneurship. In the end, the participants shared their ideas on how the following key questions could be tackled:

• How can we reach the youth voices?
• And how can we engage them?
• How can we hold duty bearers to account?

The ideas shared will be developed further to form part of the ‘’1million job creation campaign’’ to be championed by African youth with support of ONE Africa. For this drive, the AYC committed to mobilise  300,000 youth voices through its national consortiums spread across 46 African countries to participate in the campaign as soon as it’s launched.

-End-

1. Download Summary of this Notes in pdf
2. Download Concept Note in pdf
3. Download the Agenda in pdf
4. Download ONE Presentation on Job Creation for Youth Consultation – by Edwin Ikhuoria, Interim Executive Director at ONE Africa in pdf
5. Download Presentation of AU 1MBy2021 Initiative by Nicholas Omondi Ouma of AU Youth Division in pdf
6. Download PRESENTATION of Ms. Viridiana Wasike, CEO Accelevate Leads, Kenya in pdf

More about the Campaign, please visit this PAGE on ONE Africa website.

AYC Participated in the 6th IOE Social Partners Summit in Lagos, Nigeria

1. Download this summary notes in pdf
2. Download the Concept Note of the Summit in pdf
3. Download the Agenda in pdf

For more about the Summit including the outcome document, please visit the IOE website at this link: IOE 6th ASP Summit 2020, Lagos, Nigeria.

Mr. Flomo M. Maiwo, Deputy Executive Chairperson and Mr. Kawsu Sillah, Executive Secretary attended the Summit representing the AYC. 

Held from 25^th – 26^th February 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria, the 6^th African Social Partners Summit was convened by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) in partnership with Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) with support of the European Union under the theme: ‘’Towards the socio-economic transformation of Africa through job creation: the role of the social partners’’.  It brought together all the interested parties – representatives of employers, workers, governments, international organisations, and youth – to share and review work to date to advance job creation policies in Africa. The ASP Summit series has been a journey: we have moved from words to actions and now is the time to explore and assess the challenges and opportunities arising from implementation. The aim was to identify initiatives that have real potential for replication, albeit modified for national particularities, in the achievement of economic and social transformation through skills development and job creation.

Addressing the participants in his opening remark, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi, President and Chairman of Governing Council (NECA) noted that to address the challenges of rising of unemployment requires concerted efforts and encouraged partners to put their ideas and resources together to curb this global threat to our development. He shared some initiatives taken by his organisation such as the ‘’Industrial Training Fund’’ which is supporting young people to gain skills needed to secure employment or create jobs and the organisation of annual ‘’Job Fair’’ which serves as a platform for job seekers and employers to meet and since over 2600 job seekers participated in the fair.

For his part, Mr. Robert Suarez Santos, Secretary General of IOE, expressed delightto be in Lagos for this important Summit alongside employers and other stakeholders in the industry. He thanked the participants for accepting the invitation to attend the 6^th Social Partners Summit. Mr. Suarez noted that Nigeria has big opportunities in terms of economic growth and youth bulge and that’s one of the reasons for IOE to host this Summit in Lagos with a view to identify areas for global and regional actions to create decent jobs (in partnership with Business Africa and other stakeholders in the Africa region). ‘’Creating a business environment for job creation and skills development is central in IOE’s work’’, SG Santos said. At IOE, we are working hard with ILO to allocate more resources for skills development and job creation and the outcome of this Summit will help us to realize this goal. He concluded by assuring the IOE’s continued support and collaboration with African partners.

Mrs. Jacqueline Mugo, Secretary General, Business Africa, thanked the IOE and NECA for organising the Summit and she hoped the gathering will come up with tangible solutions to provide high quality paying jobs for African youth. Mrs. Mugo emphasized that creating inclusive and sustainable jobs is central to the development of African economy, and enterprises need to growth and dialogue among themselves to improve partnership and job creation in Africa. She encouraged the partners to take advantages of AFCFTA to ease free movement of people, goods and services, and improve engagement around youth to better skills development. Jacqueline concluded by reminding the Nigerian authorities the need to remove visa barriers for all African citizens to make business engagement easier.

Ms. Cynthia Samuel Olonjuwon, Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Africa at ILO, begin her remark by appreciating the IOE and NECA for inviting her to the Summit. Madam Cynthia revealed that NECA played a great role in her personal career development as she previously served the association in various capacities before moving to her current position at ILO. She thanked the management for all the support accorded to her over the years.

In her address, the ILO regional director said, 6 out of 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa, and despite this Africa continue to face the challenges of high unemployment. She noted that unemployment rate will increase from 34.1M to 38.4M, and youth not in education and training will increase from 52.2M to 58.3M in the coming years. Given this statistics, madam Cynthia asked ‘’can we change the Demographic profile into a dividend or a disaster?’’.

‘’Political space must allowed job creation and not only mere talks, we  to move from low paying to formal high paying jobs’’, she emphasized.  She noted that Agriculture remains major employers for many African countries but yet it’s not mechanized in such a way that young people will be motivated to venture into it.

According to her, ILO has adopted a Plan of Action covering 7 work streaming, and promoting decent work for young African men and women is very central in this. She concluded by expressing the ILO’s commitment to Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020.

Mr. Ayuba P. Wabba, President of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), informed the gathering that in 2019, about 40M jobs were created but only 16M jobs grasp by young people. ‘’Africa need plenty jobs to grow its economy’’, Mr. Ayuba said.  

Finally, Senator (Dr.) Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment delivered the key note and opening statement. ‘’Nigerian Government is concerned with an alarming rate of unemployment and working with stakeholders to addressing it’’, Hon. Minister said.

He noted that the youth population is challenge in working poverty, mismatch of skills and quality education and to address this challenge, the Federal Government of Nigeria has introduced a minimum wage (30 thousand naira as a minimum wage in Nigeria), digital skills (IT) training programmes for youth and micro economic framework to create employment throughout the country.  He thanked IOE and NECA for organizing the Summit in Nigeria, thanked participants for attending and officially declares the Summit open.

Panel discussions (Outcome of the ILO Africa Regional Meeting and employer-related activities)

Panelists include: 

• El-Mahfoudh Megateli, IOE Regional Vice President for Africa
• Jacqueline Mugo, SG, Business Africa

Key highlights

• Implementation of the outcome is key
• Global market change is growing but only 20% of supply change is growing
• Inter-regional trade is much low in Africa
• Right policy need to be put in place
• Capacity building and access to technology should be prioritized  
• Limited data

The AYC was given the opportunity to make an intervention and co-moderate the session on ‘’Work-based learning in Africa: how can we further expand TVET to develop skills for the labour market?’’

During the discussions, the AYC shared its experiences on how it is empowering African youth to gain essential skills in order to become self-employed or relevant in labour market. The representative raised the following questions:

• How can young people get further involved in TVET? Is there any role, youth networks like the AYC can play to get young people interested in TVET, and make it affordable for everyone?  TVET is very expensive? Not getting involved in TVET is even more expensive as more boku haram, migration activities etc will continue to take place.

Key recommendations

• Youth leaders can inspire peers to get involve in TVET.
• Training for youth organisations in TVET. Young people identified themselves in TVET sector.
• Career path, mentorship, sensitization in high school and social medial, inter-generational collaboration should be conducted.
• TVET play a key role in reducing internal and cross boarder migration and provides solutions to job creation for youth in Africa

What is the role of workers’ organisations?

• Government and private sector alike must develop workforce development and training programs for self-employment)
• Build the capacities of youth organisations/networks to mobilise, communicate and influence TVET policy and strategies
• Develop Policy on TVET/STEM to encourage youth to go into TVET field

How can private sector get more involved in promotion of TVET?

• Develop and implement apprenticeship training program, advocate for reforms in private sector, training institutions and governments to directly target youth and to promote TVET .

State of TVET learning in Africa

Key highlights

• Perception around TVET (stigmatization): Across the Africa region, only 6% enrollment in TVET);
• Increasing youth bulge: 11 million African youth entering job market every year for the next two decade;
• 40M young people are projected to drop out of school in the next decade;
• Skills the new currency.

Soft skills vs Hard soft

• Communication skills
• People management skills
• Strategy skills
• Analysis and problem solving skills
• ‘’Glocal’’ skills
• Finance
• Skills Governance (review of TVET and apprenticeship programs)

Young farmer

• Not able to turn their ideas into a reality
• In Morocco observatory of employers association

Key recommendations

• Promote made in Africa
• What can we give to the youth?
• Too much of meeting should be reduced
• Build good relationship with Government and other development partners
• Introduction and adoption of AIs,
• TVET should be more of hands on and less theory

In the end, participants were divided into groups to identify sub-regional challenges and share best practices.

Regional Breakouts (Best practices from Nigeria)

• Federal Government provides funding support to private sector actors to implement different job creation initiatives such as the ‘’YouWin’’ – The Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria;
• Implemented business plan competition through which 3,900 beneficiaries (young men and women) participated in the competition;
• Provided mentorship and other business advisory services to young entrepreneurs and business managers;
• Provided access to finance for MSMEs including women and youth (84.1 Billion Naira) was disbursed by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN). About 81,222 MSMEs benefited across the 6 geo-political zones.

Challenges

• Increasing youthful population and emerging businesses;
• Limited investment/funding opportunities;
• Capacity of the Government and funding institutions to meet expectations of the growing population.

Recommendations from the sub-regional breakouts were presented to the organisers and will form part of the outcomes of Summit.

-End-

MEDIA ADVISORY

SUBJECT: POSTPONEMENT OF THE 4TH PAN AFRICAN YOUTH CONFERENCE ON AFRICAN UNITY AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING OF THE AFRICAN YOUTH COMMISSION 2020.

Since the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in January 20^th 2020, the Organizing Committee of the 4th Pan African Youth Conference has kept a close eye on the situation and the impact it could have on the participants.

Over the last few days, a number of African countries including Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco have confirmed cases with Sudan and Equatorial Guinea registered suspected cases. As a result of the continuous spread of this worldwide epidemic in many countries, we are being notified that a number of international events set to take place in March including the conference of ‘United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)’ are postponed.

Following the advice of World Health Organization (WHO), that no risk should be taken to increase the danger, we regret to inform the general public that the 4th Pan African Youth Conference on African Unity and Development, and the Annual General Assembly Meeting of the AYC, scheduled to take place from 23-27 March 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya is now postponed until further notice. Our decision has been informed largely by the possible spread of the virus, the reliance on physical measures for prevention and given the fact that the very large number of participants from across the continent and the diaspora expected to be part of the conference and we do not have the capacity to manage a crisis related to this Coronavirus. 

We understand that this postponement might have financial implications but our main concern is the ultimate safety and well-being of all participants.

We are closely monitoring the situation and once it has improved, we will communicate the new dates as soon as possible. Please note, the postponement does not mean that conference is cancelled. Keep an eye on the conference page for updates: http://africanyouthcommission.org/4th-pan-african-youth-conference-2020/

The host country, Republic of Kenya remained unchanged, and the invitation letters sent out to all participants equally remains valid.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee,

Signed

Kawsu Sillah

Executive Secretary 

Email: kawsu@auyc.org   

Phone: +220 986 53 00

AYC at ECOWAS Non-State Actors Conference on Terrorism in ECOWAS region

On 26-27 August 2019 in Niamey, Niger our Commissioner of Political Affairs, Mr. Moussa Fara Diop and Executive Secretary, Mr. Kawsu Sillah attended the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional “Non-State Actors Conference on Curbing Terrorism and Violent Extremism” in ECOWAS region.

A two-day civilian stakeholders meeting is organised by ECOWAS Commission in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It brought together 100 civil society representatives mainly from traditional and religious groups, youth, women, non-governmental organisations and others from the fifteen ECOWAS Member States including Cameroun, Chad and Mauritania to discuss the growing threats of terrorism, violent extremism and inter-communal clashes in the Sahel Region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Madame Lamido Ousseini Salamatou Bala Goga, the Minister of State for African Integration and Nigeriens Abroad of Niger emphasized that terrorism constitute the major threat to peace and security in the region and has become a trans-border threat that is spreading to other countries. Thus the needy for all parties at the state and non-state levels to find solutions to ending the menace of terrorism.

Madam Finda E.M. Koroma, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission in her opening remarks commended the efforts and determination of His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger and Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, in resolving security issues and terrorism in the Sahel region in particular.

“This threat of terrorism, which is the topic of our meeting over the next two days, is of great concern to us in West Africa. Our region is regularly targeted by terrorist incidents perpetrated almost on a daily basis,” She said.
Vice President Koroma stressed the need to address the root causes of radicalisation and violent extremism in other to fight and eradicated terrorism in the ECOWAS Region.

Highlighting the negative effects of violent extremism and its threats to human development, Gen. Francis A. Behanzin, Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission outlined that the Niamey meeting provides opportunity for stakeholders in the region to participate in finding solutions to ending terrorism in the region.

He underlined the critical role to be played by civil society stakeholders and encouraged them to propose a strategy that can be adopted by the region to eradicate radicalisation and violent extremism.

Madam Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) stated that their participation at the meeting demonstrates UNOWAS solidarity and commitment to putting an end to the scourge of terrorism in the region.

“No country or actor can win this fight alone. Also, we need even more constructive partnerships,” She said.

Also speaking at the opening, Madam Diana Louise Ofwona, Resident Representative, UNDP Niger, while reading a statement on behalf of Madam Ahunna Eziakonwa, the Assistant Administrator and Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, stressed that UNDP is trying to achieve a regional approach of shared responsibility, through the Humanitarian for Peace and Security development initiative.

The Stakeholders’ meeting will be followed by a Joint Meeting of the Chiefs of Defence Staff, Chiefs of Security and Intelligence Services on Terrorism on the 28th and 29th of August 2019 in Niamey.

These two meetings are in preparation for the Ministerial meeting on the 12th of September 2019 in Ouagadougou, and then followed by the Extraordinary Summit of ECOWAS Heads and Government on Terrorism on the 14th of September 2019.

Concept Note – English

Concept Note – French

Program Guide – English

Program Guide – French

Full report, please view ECOWAS website from this link: https://www.ecowas.int/civilian-stakeholders-meet-on-terrorism-and-violent-extremism-in-the-ecowas-region/

-End-

AYC Webinar on Preparing Youth for the Future of Work

African Youth Commission in collaboration with Plan International Regional Hub, Plan RESA Country Offices, Africa Youth Trust, Office of the African Union Envoy on Youth and International Organisation of Employers, Forum for African Women Educationalists and other partners, as part of activities marking the International Youth Day 2019, jointly organised Twitter Chat and Webinar on ‘Preparing Youth for Future of Work’ with particular focus on inclusion of girl and young women.

The theme for 2019 International Youth Day is ”Transforming Education”. In the webinar will seek to:

1. Spotlight Young ‘Education Transformers’ innovations across the region

2. Highlight partnership opportunities between youth-led networks, governments, AU/UN agencies and other education stakeholders to transform education

3. Provide a platform for African youth to voice their demands to policy makers as well as highlight their roles and contributions in transforming education to Prepare Youth for Future of Work.

The webinar will be preceded by a Twitter chat in a moderated panel to highlight the importance of transforming education in preparing the young men and women in Africa for the Future of Work. This webinar will take place on 12th August 2019 at 13h00-14.30pm EAT. To participate in the webinar, join the meeting through this GoToMeeting link https://www.gotomeet.me/youthandfutureofwork

Download Concept Note

OFFICIAL LAUNCHING OF AYC SENEGAL NATIONAL CONSORTIUM

Following the successful inauguration of the Gambia, Kenya and Uganda National Consortiums last year 2018, the AYC is set to officially launch its Consortium in Senegal with the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Dakar as pioneer member. JCI Dakar is part of JCI global movement that challenges the status quo by inspiring young people to recognize their responsibility to create a better world and empower them to drive change.

The official launch is in line with the AYC’s core mandate and founding principles to foster synergies among youth and youth organisations, build capacities of youth-led and youth-serving organisations to provide youth friendly space and amplify youth voices in current policy and decision making processes. Since its inception in 2013, the AYC has been in the forefront promoting Pan-Africanism, mobilizing young people for African Unity and Development through influencing youth inclusion, participation and engagement in the implementation of the Africa 2063 Agenda as well the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, supporting advocacy actions on the ratification and implementation of the African Youth Charter, other youth rights-based legal instruments and contributing to advancing the AU Shared Values in African countries and diaspora.

The ceremony will be officiated by Ms. Natalie Sonia Mukundane, Executive Chairperson of the AYC and graced by youth leaders, government officials, representatives from youth civil society and non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, other partner agencies and youth development actors in Dakar, Senegal.

With this launch, Senegal becomes the fourth country in Africa officially mandated to implement AYC activities at national level in alignment with AYC Strategic Plan 2018-2020, which outlines practical steps to create decent job and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, improve health services including comprehensive sexuality education in formal and non-formal education, promote human rights and deliver good governance, accountability and social cohesion at all levels as well as encourage inclusion and active participation of youth in the maintenance of peace and security in the country, at regional and continental levels.

The launch will take place on Saturday 27th July 2019 from 9:00am at the Goree Institute located at Villa Malolo, 1 rue du jardin Ile de Gorée – BP 05.

Download the Media Advisory.

Download Concept Note.

Download Programme Guide.

Download Invitation Card.

AYC Side Event: United for Peace: Empowering African Youth in the Implementation of SDG 16

The High-level Political Forum(HLPF) will be held from 9 to 18 July 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The HLPF will serve as a central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The theme will be “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.” The focus will be on reviewingthe progress and implementation of a specific set of SDGs: Goal 4, Quality Education; Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth; Goal 10, Reduced Inequalities; Goal 13, Climate Action; Goal 16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions; and Goal 17, Partnerships for the Goals.

Today, the world is the youngest it has ever been with over one billion youth, of which 600 million live in violence- and conflict- affected areas. Of the approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide living in countries impacted by crime, violence, conflict and fragility, 50 per cent are under the age of 20. In 2016, children under the age of 18 constituted 51 percent of the refugee population, compared to just 31 per cent of the global population. Forced displacement has mainly affected developing nations, which currently host the majority of the forcibly displaced.

During the side event, participants will look at the theme of the HLPF, “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”, from a youth perspective. Participants will identify mechanisms that empower youth,discuss youth’s role in peace and security, and advance collaboration efforts in the implementation and localization of SDG 16, including how it is relates to SDG 4. The discussions will also focus on how education can play a key role in the implementation of SDG 16. Achieving inclusive and equitable quality education for all will require increasing efforts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa for vulnerable populations, including persons with disabilities, indigenous people, refugee children and poor children in rural areas. UNODC’s Education for Justice (E4J) initiative – under the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration – has been developed to create and disseminate education materials in UNODC mandated areas of crime prevention and criminal justice across the primary, secondary and tertiary education levels. Overall, the objective is to empower youth to become socially responsible global citizens with a sound moral and ethical compass who are prepared to tackle the world’s challenges related to the rule of law, particularly on SDG 16 and other related Sustainable Development Goals.

Download Concept Note

This session will build on the previous UNODC and The Gambia National Youth Council joint side event that took place in Banjul, The Gambia during the AYC 3rd Pan African Youth Conference on African Unity and Development which brought together youth representatives from across Africa to engage in a dialogue with young African leaders, who are involved in government, policymaking and youth empowerment initiatives. As an independent Pan-African youth network founded by young leaders to foster synergies among youth and youth organizations, The Africa Youth Commission (AYC) will be a key partner in the side event. AYC is committed to providing a space and voice for youth to be key partners in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the UN Agenda 2030; Sustainable Development Goals, UNSCR2250 and the Africa 2063 Agenda.

The Gambia National Youth Council, Office of The African Union Youth Envoy, The United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth will also play a significant role in the side-event.

AYC at 2019 United Nations Public Service Forum

AYC is pleased to have participated in the 2019 United Nations Public Service Forum, held on 24-26 June 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

We are represented by our Executive Chairperson, Ms. Natalie Sonia Mukundane Kyamutetera. During the Forum, Ms. Mukundane delivered a presentation on “Engaging African Youth effectively in Decision Making processes and Public Service delivery”.

In addition, she moderated a Ministerial Roundtable on “Enhancing Engagement of Vulnerable Groups in Decision-Making and Public Service Delivery”.