ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — After two days of discussions and information sharing on key issues and challenges faced by youth across the African continent, about 200 young people identified their priorities at the Youth Meeting of the African Regional Conference on Population and Development. These relate to health (including sexual and reproductive health and rights), education, employment, civil participation, and peace and security.
Citizens of the world's youngest continent, African youth represent an enormous development resource for the region. Their priorities are aimed at ensuring that their potential is released to drive sustainable economic development on the continent.
The Youth Pre-Conference recommendations document they drafted over the two day meeting has a strong focus on the rights of young women and other vulnerable groups, such as people living with disabilities, HIV/AIDS and LGBTI, and aims to ensure that young people in all their diversity can participate in and benefit from the region's development.
The Youth recommendations document will feed into an African intergovernmental meeting, organized jointly with UNECA and the African Union in Addis Ababa from 30 September to 4 October. Youth representatives are present at this meeting, alongside civil society representatives, helping to build a common African position on addressing gaps, challenges and emerging issues in relation to the achievement of the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
