Urban YouthConnekt Session 2018 CONCEPT NOTE In Africa, the first step you are doing well is YOUTHCONNEKT! It is the people connect, young people should be connected at first, Jack Ma Investing in learning the problems of today and their causes so that when you are a leader you are contributing to addressing the problems, H.E President Paul Kagame Background With a population of over 1 Billion people of whom 65% are below the age of 35 years, Africa is indeed a youthful continent and this presents both opportunities and challenges. Currently, it is estimated that Africans aged 15-35 make up roughly 40% of its population with its majority living in urban areas (cities), yet these cities are engines of economic growth and prosperity in developing countries. Young people generally migrate to cities to look for better opportunities and to build upon on their resilience in terms of education, health, markets, jobs, technology, finances, infrastructure and anonymity in case of violence. This creates the youth bulge a demographic dividend and not a demographic bomb to cities and the countries if tapped upon. Urban YouthConnekt Session 2018 to be held during the 2018 YouthConnekt Summit Rwanda, Kigali in October 2018; provides an optimum opportunity for young people from diverse backgrounds and continents to connect. It emphasizes on the need to empower youth by defining and developing the right socio-economic and political environments that will help them to succeed, cannot be overemphasized. From access to education, to access to funding for innovative entrepreneurial ideas, investing in youth globally. Lastly, it brings together those entrusted with policy making to create the space for inclusion and empowerment of youth in the development agenda.
The 2018 YouthConnekt Summit Hosted by H.E Paul KAGAME, President of the Republic of Rwanda, the inaugural YouthConnekt Africa Summit held in Kigali July 2017, resulted in the adoption of 3 main recommendations; namely. 1) Scaling up of the YouthConnekt initiative to the regional level beyond the current 6 countries. 2) The establishment of a YouthConnekt Africa Hub based in Kigali-Rwanda and offering regional support to national youth programs. 3) The establishment of a YouthConnekt Empowerment Fund, which will seek to finance youth empowerment initiatives across the continent. As follow-up to the 2017 YCA Summit s recommendation, the YouthConnekt Africa Hub is being established in Kigali with the objective to equip YCA members with needed guidance and support to integrate relevant best practices in youth economic and civic empowerment to their existing initiatives. The 2018 YouthConnekt Summit co-hosted by the Government of Rwanda, AfDB, UNDP and supported by various partners, came to propel further the initiative by launching the YouthConnekt Africa Hub and set goals of member s collaboration towards the empowerment of African Youth to take a more proactive role in shaping the bright future of the continent. Urban YouthConnekt Session 2018 The Urban YouthConnekt Session 2018, within the framework of the 2018 YouthConnekt Summit, is a platform developed for youth (Entrepreneurs, Youth Leaders, Innovators, Students, Artists, Youth in Diaspora and Youth living with disabilities). The Forum, spearheaded by UN- Habitat is built on numerous youth fora held globally in: 1. Abuja, Nigeria during the Youth and Prosperity of Cities conference in July 2011 2. Johannesburg, South Africa during the 7th Africities Summit themed Shaping the Future of Africa with the people: the contribution of African local authorities to agenda 2063 of the African Union in November, 2015 3. Quito, Ecuador during the Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, in October 2016 4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the 9th World Urban Forum conference themed Cities 2030 Cities For All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda in February 2018 Page 2 of 6
As a result the YouthConnekt platforms have contributed to the implementation of African Union Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda by: 1. Influencing policy by building synergies that converge urban youth to share their learning, experiences and ideas/innovations 2. Developing/replicating/adopting programs by identifying existing youth centered programs aligned to providing practical and sustainable solutions to existing urban challenges. The Forum also provided an opportunity to programs to work together to achieve common goals. The interventions also act as a monitoring strategy to set policies and national priorities. 3. Enhancing/developing partnership to support programming and advocacy. The success of youth development is centered on a strong and sustainable partnership model with Government institutions, private sector, and civil society. The Forum also embraces the South-South Cooperation framework in enhancing partnerships in the global south (Africa, Asia Pacific and LAC). Within the framework, young people have the opportunity to experience cross-continental learning and sharing best practices. In addition, it opens up city-city learning, programming and hence strategic financing opportunities to support innovative programming. Goal The Urban YouthConnekt Session 2018 is focused to influence jobs and entrepreneurship, Education and Skills, Civic Participation and Leadership, Gender- Reducing gender inequality, Technology, Innovation and networks. The session will also open up dialogues and come up with integrated crosscutting innovations to enhance results. This will include: Art, Sports, Culture and Access to Finances. Page 3 of 6
How can we achieve this? By: 1. Convening youth (Entrepreneurs, Youth Leaders, Innovators, Students, Artists, Youth in Diaspora and Youth living with disabilities) to showcase interventions, share knowledge and ideas 2. Influencing frameworks and operations of the YouthConnekt Africa Hub with the participating youth voices (virtually or physically). 3. Creating links between the YouthConnekt Africa Hub and the youth development practices globally. Outcomes of the Urban YouthConnekt Session 2018 1. Progressive influence of the YouthConnekt Africa Summit by the participating youth voices on shaping the YouthConnekt Africa Hub 2. Progressive commitment from participating stakeholders on youth development in Africa and the global south 3. Establishing and strengthening models of the South South cooperation to support youth networks, learning, knowledge sharing, markets. Why we need you to come on board!!!! Government: On Africa s integration. How do we talk about integration yet we limit movement? How doe we do business and how then do we invest in one another? Honorable President Kagame. Young people form the largest demographic affect and Governments provide the "enabling environment " for youth to thrive in terms of markets, trade, learning, infrastructure to name a few. Governments operate as a link between policy and practice, and addressing the socio- Page 4 of 6
economic problems impacting youth, such as unemployment and barriers to political participation, which is essential for youth progress and development. Private sector: Millennials represent a large proportion of new joiners, so finding the best way to connect and generate interest is key, Accenture Private sector growth is a key engine of job creation as well as mentoring of young entrepreneurs and business start-up assistance. Due to an increasing demand for talent, the private sector has the most to gain from a systemic change in how effectively and efficiently youth skills are matched to jobs. Therefore, the private sector must be at the forefront of driving solutions to youth unemployment in Africa. Young people present the greatest market share for the private sector. Involvement of the private sector in empowering young people has implications on consumption of their products and hence an effect on their return on investments. Upon investment of the private sector on their greatest market share, by investing on innovations, education, and mentorship; this spills over to expansion of their value chains and absorption of products and services. This also resonates to other private sector social priorities such as environmental conservation, human rights protection, citizen engagement etc as their market share also shares their principles. Individual financiers: All failures I have gone through are not real failures. As young entrepreneurs, you have to ask yourself, what do you want, what you don t want, how much time do you want to commit in and what would you give up to reach that, Alibaba founder, Jack Ma Page 5 of 6
Young people look up to accomplished people to guide them to provide mentorship. Mentorship is a source of literacy, a very important component in meaningful youth development and engagement as it also nurtures leadership. Literacy is about what needs to be done. Those who most need it are the ones who least understand how important it is to them, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Dr Mukhisa Kituyi Civil Society Organizations (CSOs): Civil society is an archive of experience and rich history of the development world. They have evolved over the years to meet localized needs. Their involvement, as any other stakeholder, is critical in mobilizing of public and private sectors to reach out to and support the youth especially those disadvantaged around income generating opportunities. Page 6 of 6