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Get involved! How to participate ...

Member States

The UNESCO Strategy on African Youth was developed with African Member States. It can only be successfully implemented through their in-depth contribution. UNESCO stands ready to support Member States in this effort by providing technical advice, mobilizing partners, sharing successful practices and facilitating South-South or North-South-South cooperation.

Each African Member State can take five concrete steps:

  1. Proceed with ratification of the African Youth Charter.
  2. Examine and review national and municipal policies to ensure that they fully comply with the provisions of the Charter.
  3. Develop research initiatives on the situation of youth at country level by:
    • initiating research centres, programmes or UNESCO Chairs on Youth, and
    • developing statistical capacity to measure different areas of youth development.
  4. Establish or reinforce representative and inclusive structures for youth participation in national and community decision-making.
  5. Make existing community centres available to organize training sessions or non-formal education initiatives for youth.

All other UNESCO Members States can contribute through:  

  • Sharing successful practices and experiences, and linking their development work on Africa to the implementation of the Strategy.
  • Providing financial support to the UNESCO Secretariat for the implementation of the Strategy.
  • Providing in-kind support for the implementation of the initiatives foreseen in the Strategy at regional or country level.
  • Support in human resources, through secondments to the UNESCO Secretariat.

International IGOs, Regional IGOs, Funds, Banks

The significance of the Strategy lies in its potential to convene global and regional partners around common priorities on youth development in Africa. By aligning action and working to common strategic goals, the impact of previously dispersed youth initiatives would be strengthened with the prospect of greater efficiency and progress on youth development work.

The Commission of the African Union (AUC) is a key strategic partner in this effort. UNESCO and the AUC are working closely together to support the implementation of the Strategy in line with the priorities of the Decade on Youth Development and Youth Empowerment in Africa. In addition, technical and financial partners, such as international and regional IGOs, Funds and Banks, and UN System entities, are crucial to its success.

In this category, partners are invited to contribute as follows:

  • Send contributions directly to the UNESCO Secretariat (e.g. financial contributions, human resources secondments, in-kind contributions).
  • Encourage advocacy and public awareness activities relating to the African youth Charter, and in particular support the joint UNESCO/AUC campaign for the ratification and implementation of the Charter.
  • Collaborate in the setting up of research networks on youth-related issues.
  • Provide conceptual and operational inputs to the youth capacity-building and training sessions to be organized in community centers.

Youth Organizations

Young people are at the origin of this Strategy (1st UNESCO African Youth Forum, Burkina Faso, 24-28 September 2007) and they are its core drivers.

If you are under the age of 25 and you work in a youth organization, you are a key partner.

You can help us as follows:

  • Participate in or organize youth-led initiatives to raise public awareness about the African Youth Charter and its implications.
  • Share data, research findings and any relevant material with UNESCO that can feed into our research activities on youth-related issues in Africa.
  • Share with UNESCO your successful experiences regarding youth-led initiatives at community level.
  • Facilitate exchanges among youth, and network with (other) organizations, especially at regional level.
  • Promote public advocacy to mobilize support for the Strategy’s implementation.
  • Develop or support peer-to-peer training through community centers.

Report your activity: if you are a youth organization and you believe your activity contributes to the implementation of the Strategy, please share it with us at youth(at)unesco.org.

Private Sector

The role of the private sector is key: it strengthens the means available for implementation and, through the United Nations Global Compact, links the Strategy’s implementation to the wider developmental framework.

If you belong to the private sector, you are welcome to support the implementation of the Strategy through:

  • Direct financial contributions for the implementation of specific initiatives foreseen in the Strategy.
  • Public-private partnerships at country or regional level to support the Strategy.
  • In-kind contributions or services, including technical assistance or human resources secondment.

If you want to support the implementation of the Strategy, please contact youth(at)unesco.org.

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