The African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and the AWLN Young Women Leaders Caucus with the Office of the African Union Youth Envoy (OYE) held the first African Women Leaders Network Inter-Generational Retreat on Leadership in Africa with the theme: Women Leadership in Africa: “Building the Africa We Want Together”.  This retreat was in partial fulfillment of AWLN’s pledge to the African Union Commission’s 1 Million by 2021 Initiative, which committed to building capacities of young leaders on civic leadership from community to continental level.   

Twenty five years have now passed since the historic International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) , which took place here in our beloved African Continent in Cairo, Egypt in 1994. A remarkable feature of this summit was , the Programme of Action adopted on 13 September 1994 , which emphasises the integral linkages between population and development and focuses on meeting the needs of individuals, especially young people with commitments to sexual reproductive health and rights for all young people, especially women and girls.

After collecting over 1000 feedback submissions from Africa Youth online and offline during consultations with youth groups, youth experts and African Union Commission departments, we are happy to launch the AU Youth Envoy Action Plan 2019/20. This Action Plan outlines activities on how to bring African youth closer to the African Union and influence its work and organs.

The Commission of the African Union, through its Youth for Peace (Y4P) Africa Program of the Peace and Security Department will appoint African Youth Ambassadors for Peace (AYAP), one from each of the five (5) regions of Africa. This is in line with the decision of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) via the communiqué of its 807th meeting held on 8th November 2018 on Youth, Peace and Security. The Council requested the AU Commission to appoint the AYAP to work with the AU Youth Envoy in championing the promotion of peace and security across the continent. It is within this context, that the PSD is launching the call for application to eligible African youth.

The world is experiencing an acute period of change and contestation. A backlash against the perceived uneven benefits of globalization has fundamentally reshaped national politics across the world, from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union to the election of President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Major global challenges such as climate change, intercontinental migration, demographic shifts and the transformation of work by new technologies require global responses. However, these are increasingly obstructed by the reassertion of domestic political priorities and a subsequent weakening of multilateral cooperation.

“Our government has put in place measures, seeking to diversify our economy by developing agriculture, emphasizing manufacturing and addressing the energy and infrastructure deficit. With this we shall be placing Nigeria on the path of rapid growth and sustainable development,” Buhari said, before inviting Japanese investors to invest in power and renewable energy, petrochemicals and gas, maritime shipping, ports, agribusiness and healthcare, some priority sectors identified by his administration.

By investing in Africa’s food markets, governments can win the fight against stunting and improve nutrition across the continent. And with support from institutions like the African Development Bank, the results would be a win-win situation for all.

The Sasakawa Association will work with the Japan International Cooporation Agency (JICA), to help double rice production to 50 million tonnes by 2030.  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the announcement at the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) symposium held on Wednesday during TICAD7.

Gaborone, Botswana, 26th August 2019 – Experts in digital transformation, gender and education, attending the Second Innovation Education Expo, urged the continent to adopt inclusive digital policies for out-of-school girls in Africa during a side event convened by the African Union International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA) in Gaborone, Botswana on 21st August 2019.