AU theme included on agenda of World Youth Forum

The organizing committee of the World Youth Forum, to be hosted by Sharm El Sheikh on November 4-10, decided to include the summit theme adopted by the African Union on the agenda of the forum.

The AU 2017 Summit witnessed the launch of the AU 2017 theme, “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in the Youth.” as African leaders decided to adopt the theme to propel economic growth in the African countries.

In partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and national ministries of finance and development planning, The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) has conducted demographic dividend studies in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Swaziland, Namibia, Senegal and Zambia. At a broader level, AFIDEP has contributed its expertise at various regional and international fora deliberating on identifying specific investments in family planning, education, health, economic reforms and governance, that would facilitate optimal demographic dividends for the continent and individual countries.

During the launch of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2015, African Heads of State and Government led by Malawi President Peter Arthur Mutharika, held a high level meeting which saw the African leaders commit to championing the demographic dividend as a catalyst for Africa’s development. The communiqué the leaders signed also rallied efforts to see the African Union adopt the demographic dividend as the theme for a future session.

Studies released during the summit proceedings revealed that youth constituted 60 percent of the African continent population.

Source: MENA