17th African Union Summit: Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development

8/4/2019 17th African Union Summit: Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development

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CONCEPT PAPER ON JULY 2011 SUMMIT PREPARATION Page 1

AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE

UNIO AFRICANA

Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA P. O. Box 3243 Telephone : 00 251 11 551 7700 Fax : 00 251 11 551 7844

Website : www. africa-union.org/youth.htm

DRAFT CONCEPT PAPER

IN PREPARATION OF THE JULY 2011 SUMMIT

Theme:

Accelerating Youth Empowerment for

Sustainable Development

(to be discussed during the African Youth Forum)

LUANDA, APRIL 2011?

To be confirmed


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1. Background of July 2011 Summit

The call for investment in young people now is more than clear. About 62% of Africas overall

population fall below the age of 35 and more than 35% are between 15 and 35 years old1.

More than half of youth survive on less than US$ 2 a day. Six thousand (6,000) young people

are infected with HIV/AIDS everyday all over the world; most of them are girls in Sub

Saharan Africa2. These are not just numbers. These are the realities of young people, and

this is the moment of truth. The gap between the MDGs targets and its interconnection to the

current state of the young people leaves no time for questions.

It is hence argued that increased investment in youth development yields greater economic

growth and social wellbeing for generations to come. Missed investments in young peoples

intellectual and human potential are a missed opportunity for generations and also costly to

reverse, both for youth and for society. In order to achieve the positive outcomes in the areas

of education, employment, health and citizenship, to fight poverty among the youth, a holistic

approach to youth development has become an urgent matter that should focus, not only on

young people themselves, but also on all the related factors that help shape their behaviors,

such as families, communities, schools, media, the legal environment and different

established systems of values and social norms.

The issue of youth development, empowerment and leadership is increasing in importance

through the development agenda of national governments, regional entities and international

development organizations, that include the AU Commissions efforts to build youth

capacities for quality and meaningful participation in development and decision making

processes. Most notably, there is a new and strong momentum to promote the participation

of youths and youths groups, in a wide range of policy dialogues and policy development

initiatives to ensure that youth perspectives are addressed in these processes and taken into

account for implementation. The African Youth Charter and its rapid entry into force, the

celebration of the Year of African Youth in 2008 and the annual celebration of the African

Youth Day every 1st November, the declaration of a Decade (2009-2018) for Youth

development, and its approved 10 year-plan of action, the decision to devote the July 2011

1World Banks African Development Indicators Database, 2009

2UNFPAs State of World Population Report 2003 and 2005


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Heads of State and Government Summit on youth empowerment in Africa are convincing

evidences that confirm the continental impetus to the African youth development.

The year 2011 will also mark the 5 th year since the adoption of the African Youth Charter that

was adopted by the Ministers in Charge of youth and approved by the AU Heads of State

and Government in July 2006. Therefore, the African Union acknowledges the principles and

significance of these decisions in order to capacitate the youth and thereby enable Member

States to fully benefit from their contributions, in addressing the continents social and

developmental constraints.

At a global level, the year 2010 was declared by the UN General Assembly as the

International Year of the Youth (August 12, 2010 August 12, 2011) and all youth related

activities and events to be held during the Year 2011 in reference to the United Nations Plan

of Action.

During the 15th Ordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State and Government, held

in Uganda in 2010, the Assembly adopted Accelerating Youth Empowerment for

Sustainable Development as the theme for the next Summit.

It is under this backdrop that the African Youth Forum will be held in order to accord the

youth an opportunity to deliberate and have their young voices be heard.

2. Rationale of the Forum

The African Union Commission considers African youth as a special resource that requires

special attention not only because of the demographic bonus but also its inert energy that it

possesses. They are a formidable creative resource that can be harnessed for Africas socio-

economic development.

The African Youth Forum will be a Pre-Summit event. It will be a platform for the youth to

seriously engage into dialogue and share their views and opinions about the youth

empowerment agenda as critical actors. There is need to set up a multi-disciplinary

Committee with shared responsibilities to validate, among other things, this concept note aswell as to determine the degree of technical and financial engagement that will be required


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from partners in this process. The expected outcomes of the Forum will be

resolutions/recommendations to be submitted to the Assembly. This will be a Call to the

Heads of State and Government to prioritise implementation of youth development and

empowerment programs in respective Member States.

3. Objectives of the Forum

The forum will raise awareness and call for effective commitment and actions on the part of

all stakeholders and partners at all levels to effectively mainstream youth concerns into

development policies, programs, strategies and practices in Africa. The Forum is also

intended to strengthen Africas participation and engagement in the International Year of

Youth with a view to ensuring that its concerns and priorities are adequately reflected.

4. Specific Objectives

More specifically, the Forum will:

Demonstrate the compelling evidence of youth empowerment for sustainable

development;

Deliberate on how the youthfulness of the African population could be an asset

and an opportunity ;

Deliberate on challenges that the youth face in general and propose key

recommendations for the consideration of the Heads of State and Government;

Promote sharing of experiences, good practices and lessons learned in

mainstreaming youth development into sustainable development agendas;

Showcase the significant innovative advancements of African youth, including the

Diaspora in their research and scientific activities and achievements and its

contributions towards sustainable development.

In respect to the previous decisions that African leaders have made to improve the

livelihood of young people in Africa, the Forum will review the progress made in

the implementation of these commitments and further identify fast-tracking

approaches and measures needed to adequately address the continents priorities,

Give African impetus to the current worldwide momentum towards youth

development issues,


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Strengthen/build new strategic alliances and partnerships among youth networks

within and outside Africa.

5. Sub-themes of the forum:

The following sub-themes will provide guidance to the debates and in group

discussions:

Youth empowerment and socio-political stability :

Youth and issues concerning democracy, governance, climate change,

etc

Youth and peace and security matters, conflict and post-conflicts

involvement and responsibilities

Youth empowerment and socio-economic stability

Education, science and technology, relevant training and employment

Skills and life skills development

Livelihoods and entrepreneurship and poverty reduction

Youth empowerment and social and individual welfare

Youth facing Health challenges, HIV/AIDS

Youth rights, obligations, responsibilities and legal issues

Youth empowerment and sustainable development

Youth participation Policies, decisions and practices (actions and

approaches that worked)

Opportunities and challenges

Way forward for sustainable responses

6. Expected Outputs and Outcomes

6.1 Outputs (immediate results): Concrete Resolutions/Recommendations submitted to the Assembly Forum report Forum Resolution/ Call for Actions and Commitments Press releases Publications Web publications

6.2 Outcomes (impacts):

Youth empowerment and development programs prioritized and implementedsuccessfully at National and Regional levels


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Enhanced knowledge of African youth in mainstreaming youth concerns into;development policies and practices;

Strengthened capacity of African youth to address their own development;challenges and leverage opportunities presented;

Support for the implementation of the African Youth Charter and Strategic alliances and partnerships on the Plan of Action.

Documents

17th African Union Summit: Accelerating Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development