Hellooooooo dear ones,
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!
I hope you’re settling into your homes, hopefully resting, while pondering the solutions to Africa’s problems over brunch. Lol.
Last month was Africa Youth Month 2019. Yes, indeed it was, ask Google if you don’t believe me. Yes, I know your country cares about you. Learn it and live it.
The youth envoy for the African Union Youth month, Aya Chebbie (yes, a woman!!! dismantlethepatriarchy) shared a video which I will link at the end of the blog post, simplifying the importance of institutionalizing this celebration.
Among other notable things she mentioned, this celebration is an opportunity to engage with issues regarding youth participation on the continent, recognize youths for the role they could play and are presently playing, as well as an opportunity to proffer solutions and potential improvements.
Each week of last month was dedicated to a specific issue pertaining to youths on the continent. Their activities included an online scavenger hunt as well as online forums on Employment, Engagement, Entrepreneurship, etc.
The Africa Union aptly described these activities on their website as, ‘simple tasks aimed towards creating awareness, learning, knowledge, and interaction with Agenda 2063, the African Youth Charter and 1 Million by 2021’.
As African Leaders in training, this is important because while it is necessary that we strive to correct and improve our systems regardless of external validation, our continent’s validation certainly matters.
Moreover, as ALAMAU is a simulation of the African Union, this attempt to engage with the youth on the continent is historically significant and should influence the way we approach youth engagement on the continent – as a community effort. Furthermore, one of our committees this year, chaired by Ife Olagunju, a second year student at the African Leadership Academy, delves into the contributions of youths towards the progress and growth of their countries. Ife heads the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa which will focus on ‘Eradicating Youth Unemployment through Entrepreneurship and Skills Development’.
Two major things Ife would have us focus on as we begin examining the problem are as follows:
- What strategic partnerships may Africa need to create employment opportunities?
- What financial strategies are necessary to effectively wield Africa’s human resources?
These are potential guiding questions, but should you feel some more pertinent questions are missing, please comment them below.
Important Links
https://au.int/en/africa-youth-month-2019r ones.docx
Sending you love and light.
Bolaji Olalere.