Zambia: AfDB to hold High Level Policy Dialogue on Youth Employment in Africa

By NewsfromAfrica

LUSAKA– The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is organizing a High Level Policy Dialogue Seminar on Youth Employment in Africa in Lusaka, Zambia. The panel will discuss key points around the Policy Seminar, as well as the steps being taken to address Youth Unemployment on Monday, 9th July 2012 at Intercontinental Hotel, Lusaka.

The meeting will focus on the challenges and opportunities faced by the following countries in the Southern Africa region: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique and Zambia. The countries concerned fall under the same Regional Department at the Bank, and face similar challenges of addressing the issue of unemployment among young people.

Africa has the youngest population in the world and, by 2030; nearly one in four young people will be African. This presents Africa with an enormous opportunity – but it could also present a significant risk and substantial threat to social cohesion and political stability if policymakers fail to create sustainable livelihoods for this group.

The (AfDB), African Union (AU), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the International Labor Organization (ILO) recently put in place a joint initiative to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of youth employment efforts and facilitate the implementation of existing plans, with the long-term objective of boosting youth employment in Africa and providing a response to these challenges.