Scaling up initiatives that harness Africa’s digital transformation to create decent Jobs for Youth
On 16 February 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and African Union (AU) organized an online event, entitled “Creating decent jobs for youth through digital transformation”. The webinar was held as a side event during the Africa-Europe Week of Partnerships 2022, in the lead-up to the 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels.
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Making decent work a reality for young people in Africa is a key priority of the ILO, as reconfirmed in the Abidjan Declaration - Advancing Social Justice: Shaping the future of work in Africa (2019). Promoting digital skills and the use of ICTs for the social and economic empowerment of young people is likewise a priority of the ITU, as expressed in the outcomes of the World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2017 (WTDC-17).
Many young Africans face barriers to accessing decent jobs, a reality further worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Accelerating investment in youth employment remains crucial, especially because economic growth alone cannot be relied upon for sufficient job creation. Digital transformations offer opportunities not only for economic diversification but can also lead to the creation of decent jobs for young women and men.
The discussion was moderated by Lieve Verboven, Director of the ILO Office for the European Union and the Benelux countries, and brought together a panel of high-level speakers from the ILO and ITU, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and youth representatives:
- Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, ILO
- Anne-Rachel Inné, Regional Director for Africa, ITU
- Dennis Horch, Cluster Coordinator for TVET, Skills Development and Employment, GIZ, South Africa
- Joshua Alade, Executive Director, Nigerian Youth SDG Network
- Abdul Gafaru Dasana Amin, Youth Envoy, Generation Connect – Africa Youth Group
