Create opportunities for youth to lead— YouthConnect Africa delegates
Participants at the Youth Connect Africa meeting in Accra urged African countries to provide young people more opportunities to lead in economic integration policies and deal-making activities.
They said that providing such chances to the youth will help the continent’s development and progress.
They also asked governments to organize trade funding for young businesses so that they might participate in Africa’s wider market.
The roughly 3,000 delegates who attended the summit in person and 15,000 young people who joined online released a communiqué including these points.
Mr. Emmanuel Yiadom Boakye, president of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), read the communiqué at the conclusion of the three-day summit on Friday.
The statement advocated for investments in women’s capacity building in order to develop leaders, entrepreneurs, and job creators.
They also requested funding for the development of logistical infrastructure and systems that would enable young businesses to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area’s opportunity (AfCFTA).
Furthermore, the young urged their governments to “make Africa Beyond Aid a reality, not just a slogan, by collaborating across sectors inside Africa.”
It said that if production corridors along value chains of the continent’s goods and services were built, the young might likewise lead the road out of unemployment.
That, according to the statement, might be made easier by prioritizing and harmonizing accreditations for various professions throughout the continent, as well as encouraging industry-relevant education.
The summit’s subject was “Africa Beyond Aid: Positioning the Youth for the Post-COVID Economy and AfCFTA Opportunities,” and it was accompanied by the hashtag “YouthCanDoIt.”
During the summit, young people from throughout Africa met with political leaders, policymakers, and development stakeholders to discuss how to use innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship to empower young people and contribute to the continent’s long-term development.
The summit provided a forum for young people to discuss and exchange best practices for building resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic’s various obstacles.
During the inaugural ceremony, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia urged the young to embrace entrepreneurship to help address problems in their communities rather than only for profit.
According to him, the AfCFTA provided great chances for young people to establish new businesses.
“Let us all co-own and co-create to make the country [Ghana] a better place by exploiting the chances that the AfCFTA provides to our kids,” he urged.
“It is your expertise and ingenuity that will contribute considerably to its realization,” he told the kids.
Ms Rosemary Mbabadzi, Rwanda’s Minister of Youth and Culture, spoke on behalf of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and praised Ghana for hosting the summit.
She stated that the African ministers of youth who attended the summit were determined and excited about putting the shared ideas and plans into action in order to make the African Beyond Aid agenda a reality.
She asked African youth ministers to inspire and encourage young people to take risks and dream big.
“We have the most dedicated, nimble generation that can help reshape our continent,” she remarked.
