First African youth SDGs Summit launched

The maiden edition of the African Youth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit was on Tuesday launched in Accra on the theme: “Youth as Drivers of Sustainable Development”.

The Bi-annual summit seeks to amplify the voice of the African youth, showcase innovations and offer policy advise to increase youth participation in the SDGs implementation, monitoring and evaluation process.

This would create a community of practice where African Youth can share, discuss and exchange ideas on their own and to foster knowledge sharing and peer mentoring.

The Summit would further provide an open and inclusive platform for young people in Africa, SDG achievers, African governments, development partners and the private sector to dialogue and address pertinent issues affecting the youth and also develop innovative ways of ending poverty, unemployment, conflict and combat climate change in the African sub-region.

Speaking at the media launch, Mr Emmanuel Ametepey, the Convener of the Summit said: “To enable African Youth to drive the implementation of both African and United Nations agendas, it is important to respond to the needs of the youth, provide them with an opportunity to aggregate their voices and to actively contribute to the development agenda of the continent”.

He said the Summit which would be hosted by Youth Advocates Ghana and its affiliates 2030 Youth Alliance was scheduled to take place from November 1 to 2 at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre in Accra with support from the UNDP Ghana, International and Local NGOs, the UN systems and other agencies working with and for the youth.

According to the Convener, the two-day Summit would have a Cabinet Minister to deliver the keynote address, followed by a plenary and breakout sessions where speakers would also present their expert views and best practices on their areas of specialization.

Mr Ametepey mentioned Sustaining Gains: The Journey to the SDGs-role of the Youth; Youth as Drivers of Sustainable Development; the Nexus between Agribusiness and youth employment; Migration: An opportunity or Obstacle to Achieving SDG 3; Young women and leadership in the SDG in Africa; and the SDGs and Global skill; Matching skills and labour needs; as some of the topics to be discussed.

It is anticipated that about 350 delegates between the ages of 18 and 35 years from Africa and beyond are expected to attend the Summit.

“At the end of the two-day Summit, Networking with other young people from regional level to share their experiences on the stage of the SDGs implementation in their countries and reflect on their common threats and opportunities are among the expected outcomes,” Mr Ametepey stated.

Mr Charles Bugiri, the Executive Director of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, said to achieve the ambitious goal, there was the need for stakeholders to look back into history and correct the mistakes of the Millennium Development Goals era which left out the youth in the process of development and implementation.

“There is the need for governments, development partners, civil society organizations and the private sector to recognize the value of collaborating with young people as partners and establish clear and explicit pathways for their meaningful participation in the process of implementation and monitoring,” he said.

For the youth to contribute towards the SDGs, he urged them to be committed, understand the complexity and intersection of the economy to ensure that this works accordingly.

Mr Bugiri also advised the media to educate people by doing away with the complexities associated with the SDGs and making the citizenry especially the youth to understand and appreciate the goals.

The SDGs are a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.