The Voices of Youth
FutureWise
October 20th, 2021
FutureWise is pleased to announce the first FutureWise Summit: the Voices of Youth, co-hosted by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the University of Lagos and Concordia University.
By 2050, more than half of the world's population under the age of 24 will live and be educated in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite strong economic growth in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, high youth unemployment remains one of the most urgent political and socio-economic challenges. FutureWise is committed about transforming university education to prepare African youth to thrive in today’s economy, and that of the future.
FutureWise believes that any efforts to advance a sustainable employment agenda must be in line with the expectations of young people as agenda-setters and essential participants in transformation. Within this context, the FutureWise Summit: the Voices of Youth will bring together youth organisations and young people from across sub-Saharan Africa to engage in a dynamic dialogue on the main challenges and opportunities impacting youth employment in the continent. This summit will be a unique opportunity for youth to share and learn from different perspectives and organizations in the region, as well as to inform the FutureWise initiative by sharing their concerns and ideas on how it can best contribute to prepare youth for the work of tomorrow.
Some of the questions to be addressed in this event include:
- How young people are feeling about the employment opportunities that awaits them in the short, medium and long term?
- What are the most challenging barriers in young people’s transition to the labour market and economic life?
- What opportunities and solutions do youth see on the horizon - in the short-, medium-, and long-term?
- How are universities and the private and public sectors responding to the youth employment challenge?
- How can education and training for young people in sub-Saharan Africa be made more effective in preparing them for the labour market? and
- What should the FutureWise initiative prioritise moving forward? How can FutureWise achieve this?
We hope the Summit, the Voices of Youth will spearhead a continued dialogue between youth and the FutureWise initiative. Ultimately, it will be the youth of today that will drive the delivery of our vision for tomorrow.
Agenda — The Voices of Youth
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
9 am - 9:10 am (Simultaneous translation) |
Welcome by FutureWise representatives:
|
9:10 am - 9:30 am (Simultaneous translation) |
Keynote remarks: "The Lingering Youth Unemployment Crisis in Africa: X-Raying the Youth Perspective"
|
9:30 am - 9:40 am (Simultaneous translation) |
Introducing FutureWise & Breakout session 1 |
| 9:40 am - 10:15 am (Bilingual moderator) |
Breakout session 1 — discussion topics: 1. Youth employment challenges and opportunities in a changing world 2. Education and training as a pathway to improve youth’s employment prospects 3. Empowering youth through entrepreneurship 4. The role of digital technology in tackling the unemployment challenge |
| 10:15 am - 10:20 am | Health break |
10:20 am - 10:25 am (Simultaneous translation) |
Introducing Breakout session 2 |
| 10:25 am - 11 am (Bilingual moderator) |
Breakout session 2 — discussion topics: 5. Identifying key sectors for youth employment 6. Bridging the gender unemployment gap 7. Aligning university-industry in support of youth employment 8. The role of FutureWise in preparing African youth to thrive in today's economy |
| 11 am - 11:40 am (Simultaneous translation) |
Report back and general discussions |
11:40 am - 11:55 am (Simultaneous translation) |
Conclusions |
Contacts
Julio Sevilla, International Projects Manager, Concordia International
Email: julio.sevilla@concordia.ca
Keren Elton, Programme and Business Development Manager, Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
Email: keren.elton@acu.ac.uk
Syma Mati, In charge of entrepreneurship projects, Central Projects Direction, Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
Email: syma.mati@auf.org
About FutureWise
Universities have a pivotal role to play in resolving the youth unemployment crisis in Africa by preparing students for a rapidly changing labour market and the global knowledge economy. Working together, universities have the potential to lead innovation in how we prepare the next generation for a lifetime of careers in a profoundly changing world. FutureWise will produce a tangible, transformative shift in strategy, structure and programming within African universities, positioning them to play a central role in preparing Africa’s youth for a disrupted future.
To learn more about the FutureWise initiative please visit our website: FutureWise
Organizations
To come.
