The Youth Employment Decade Summit in Africa was held on 21 October in Yaoundé (Cameroon).

The event, organised by the Regional Committee for the International Campaign took the opportunity to highlight youth employment as a priority in the region with regard to the 2030 Agenda and to implement it through the Youth Employment Decade project.

YEDIA is a group of entities coordinated by Ngwa Wilson Forbi, CEO of the Integrated Youth Volunteer Foundation (IYVF) from Cameroon. YEDIA is organised into five Subregional Committees which, in turn, include the national groups. It was established in December last year, at a key moment in the exchange of experiences and knowledge aimed at designing youth integration programmes and involving private businesses.

Africa is one of the regions with the youngest population in the world. According to the organisers of the event, this poses a unique opportunity for young people to drive change in African society. 55 countries, more than one billion people, 2,000 languages… Africa is a diverse continent, full of contrasts. However, above all, it concentrates the largest youth population and this is the reason it is facing an enormous challenge in coming years: to ensure decent jobs for its 200 million young people.

However, the lack of employment is hampering their options. Consequently, the African Committee, which considers the International Youth Employment Decade Campaign as a tool to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 8, has been working closely with civil society and public institutions.

The event was attended by 345 delegates from around Africa. They were able to learn about the International Campaign and about its implementation in the region.

A resounding success that served to highlight that the African Committee is one of the most active and that the region is truly committed to youth employment.

The full report youth-employment-decade-summit-in-africa-report