Objectives:The main objective of the Regional policy dialogue is to reaffirm the commitment of the ILO and IFAD to promote decent jobs in Africa, in particular for young women and men in rural areas, with the start of the ProAgro YOUTH project. More concretely, the regional event will:1. Reinforce ILO and IFAD policy dialogue with governments and other key stakeholders on the promotion of decent work in rural areas in Africa by sharing experiences and lessons from related interventions across the region.2. Showcase how investments in integrated agribusiness hubs in the region can create decent jobs for young women and men and how interventions such as ProAgro YOUTH can be brought to scale.
Language:Interpretation services in Arabic, English and French will be made available.
Agenda: Moderator: Ms. Joannie Bewa(All times are UCT (GMT+0) )09:00 – 09:05Introduction and housekeeping09:05 – 09:20Opening Remarks• Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon – ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa• Mr. Bernard Mwinyel Hien, IFAD Regional Director West and Central Africa Division09:20 – 09:40Integrated agribusiness hubs as a response to youth employment challenges in rural Africa.Session description & outcome: ILO and IFAD discuss employment challenges for youth, particularly in rural areas and showcase how investments such as ProAgro YOUTH in the region can create decent jobs for young women and men.• ILO’s approach to promoting decent work for young women and men, particularly in rural areas: Showcasing ProAgro YOUTH projectMr. Ken Shawa, Senior Economist, ILO Regional Office for Africa• Lessons from IFAD’s work experience in rural youth employment in AfricaMr. Tom Anyonge, Lead Technical Specialist (Rural Youth), IFAD• Agribusiness hubs, Cameroun Representative TBC09:40 – 09:55Spotlight: Working with youth/youth structures as partners.Session description & outcome: Speakers discuss how to identify young people and engage with private sector companies to assess skills needs, identify job opportunities and soft skills training for youth.• Youth representative with lived experience of the project• Mr. Lanto Ratsida, Président, Observatoire de la jeunesse, Madagascar09:55 – 10:50Policy Roundtable: Investing in Decent Jobs for Young People in rural AfricaSession description & outcome: This interactive policy roundtable will invite government representatives, social partners as well as youth representatives to discuss which enabling environment and policies are needed to translate the strategic priority of investing in rural youth into concrete action.Panellists:• H.E Ms. Agnes Makonda Nyalonje, Minister of Labour, Malawi• H.E. Mr. Harifidy Ramilison, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Madagascar• Mr. Dofra Sekongo, Youth Member, CISL Dignité, Côte d’Ivoire• Ms. Saïda NEGHZA, Présidente, Confédération Générale des entreprises Algériennes, Algeria10:50 – 11:00Closing remarks• Mr. Bernard Mwinyel Hien, IFAD Regional Director West and Central Africa Division• Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa.
Recording: here
