Adopted by the 1st Pan African Youth Convention, held at the Kenya School of Government, Nairobi Kenya from July 8th 12th , 2024.
- As the African continent transcends into the future, with all the hopes and promise of the African Renaissance, one if not, the major resources it must harness is its demographic dividend of young people. Youth under the age of 30 form at least 70% of the population in Africa. Such a youth bulge is the engine that will drive the African Renaissance, while proper democracy and governance, refined educational curricula, investment in the health sector, and transformed economies are the wheels that will turn this renewed Afro Optimism into reality.
- Affirmed by these prospects of a better Africa in the 21st century and beyond, we, the young people of this continent unite in the spirit of Ubuntu.
- Contemplating the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 clarion call regarding “the Africa We Want,” there is no doubt that the continent must, with deliberate intentions, pursue self determination, unity, and intercontinental trade to address its immediate needs of poverty, disease, ignorance and most recently, technological dependence.
- In endorsing the statements by H.E Raila Odinga, former Prime Minister of Kenya, and echoed by Former Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, during the Pan African Youth Convention, Africa needs debt restructuring and sovereign bonds to relief itself from potential debt traps set by international financing institutions.
- Recognizing the efforts of great Pan Africanists such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda, Modibo Keita, Amilcar Cabral, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Haile Selassie, Thomas Isidore Noel Sankara, Nelson Mandela, Julius Kabarange Nyerere, and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, among many others, some of whom have gone before us, the spirit of Pan Africanism must reverberate and inform the basis for renewed focus on African unity, free movement and open markets.
- Also, having examined the African Union Agenda 2063, which unequivocally, with no uncertain terms, calls for the transformation of African economies to enable their GDPs to grow at a rate of at least 7% annually, improved standards of living, increasing water and sanitation to 90% of the population, and reducing wars and conflicts, youth must be at the center of these aspirations.
- We, the delegates of the 1st Pan Africa Youth Convention held at the Kenya School of Government, Kenya, between 8th and 12th July 2024
- Endorse the full implementation of Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 and renewed focus on the execution of The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
- And call upon all the AU and member states to:
- To make it a requirement for all African governments to have two thirds youth representation across ministries, state departments, Semi Autonomous Government Agencies, and arms of government. Therefore, states and governments must institute annual and periodic reviews and report to national assemblies to ensure the implementation of this youth quota.
- We strongly welcome the establishment of National Gender Equality Commissions in all African governments to mainstream the participation of women in governance and politics.
- We endorse establishing and fully operationalizing election campaign financing regulations across the continent to create a level playing field for women and youth to participate in elective politics.
- Whereas African governments, through the AU and other regional organizations, are pursuing debt relief and debt restructuring, we strongly endorse a comprehensive audit of all foreign and domestic debts to create transparency and accountability.
- Whereas Africa earns about $95.6 billion from labor exports to the West and Europe, we endorse a visa free continent to increase cross border mobility, open markets, and knowledge transfer to curb the ongoing brain drain.
- We further recommend the creation of a standardized curriculum and certification to address the labor needs of the African continent, encourage home grown solutions to solve African challenges, and emphasize strategic investments in technical training and entrepreneurship to mitigate joblessness and skill mismatch.
- In furtherance, we recommend emphasis of the curriculum in teaching, skills development and training in agriculture, mining and line technologies for Africa to sufficiently feed her people and exploit her resources.
- Endorses a deliberate investment of at least 10% of GDP to fund basic education for all nations across Africa to increase literacy levels and prepare the generation for labor shifts in the future
- In enhancing women’s access to essential services and opportunities and recognizing the foundational issues limiting women’s political participation, we implore African governments to mainstream women leagues in political parties buttressed with observance of the 2/3 gender rule in top decision making organs of political parties.
- In furtherance, we endorse the strengthening of legal frameworks and protection mechanisms to end all forms of discrimination against women.
- We affirm the management of climate-induced disasters like floods and droughts to be realized through localized anticipatory action that involves the provision of resources, information, and relevant support before the forecasted disasters happen or their impact/s intensifies.
- We recommend governments to prioritize climate action financing in form of grants as opposed to loans to strengthen food security through food banks, post-harvest storage, food chain systems like food-waste to energy production, and disaster preparedness to cushion African communities against harsh impacts of climate-induced disasters.
- Further, we recommend effective governance that involves full operationalization of jointed and integrated legal frameworks, indigenous knowledge, and localized sustainable practices to enhance sustainable agriculture and climate action.
- Looks forward to the implementation of THESE actionable strategies by the leadership of the AU and, subsequently African governments.