Ensuring synergy between the UN Youth Strategy and the African Union Initiatives on Youth - 1st November 2018 on the #AfricaYouthDay 2018

2. The UN Youth Strategy
& African Union Initiatives on Youth:
Ensuring Synergy
Presented on behalf of the UN System by
Désiré Assogbavi
UNFPA Resident Representative to AU and UNECA

3. If we are to create a more peaceful, sustainable and prosperous
world for all to fulfil the vision of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, we need young people to lead…
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General at Launch of UNYS, 24
September, 2018

4. What is the UN Youth Strategy - #Youth2030 ?
A bold strategy that clearly
articulates how the UN is
delivering with and for young
people across its three pillars:
Peace and security, Human
rights and Development.

5. Context…
• The world today is home to the largest generation of young people in
history: 1.8 billion, 90% living in developing countries
• Today, Young people are connected to each other & informed, want
to and already contributing to resilience of their communities,
proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring
political change, in urban as well as rural contexts... need to tap on
this !!!
• Young people are facing serious challenges: discrimination,
marginalization, risk, vulnerability, exposure, violence, conflict,
absence of rights...
• Girls and women disproportionally affected !

6. Why the UN?
• Unique global convening role and coverage
• Youth Development and Engagement is a crosscutting issue for
2030 and other key policies
• #Youth2030 = Umbrella framework for all UN Agencies across
the 3 pillars: Peace and Security, Human Rights, Sustainable
Development

7. Vision of Youth 2030
• A world in which the human rights of every young person
are realized; that ensures every young person is
empowered to achieve their full Potential; and that
• Recognizes young people’s resilience and their positive
contributions as agents of change.

8. Objectives
• Facilitate increased impact and expanded global, regional
and country-level action to address the needs,
• Advance the rights of young people in all their diversity
around the world,
• Ensure their engagement and participation in the
implementation, review and follow-up of the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development & other…

9. Priorities of #Youth2030 & links with AU Roadmap on
Demographic Dividend Pillars
• Engagement, Participation and Advocacy
Amplify youth voices for the promotion of a
peaceful, just and sustainable world – AU
DD Roadmap Pillar4
• Informed and Healthy Foundations -
Support young people’s greater access to
quality education and health services –
AU Roadmap Pillars 3
• Economic Empowerment through Decent
Work - Support young people’s greater
access to decent work and productive
employment – AU Roadmap Pillar1+2
• Youth and Human Rights – Protect and
promote the rights of young people and
support their civic and political
engagement – AU Roadmap Pillar4
• Peace and Resilience Building – Support
young people as catalysts for Peace and
Security & Humanitarian Action – AU
Roadmap Pillar4
#Youth2030 comes with
intervention mechanisms

10. Coordination and Governance
• The ownership of the UN Youth Strategy is equally shared by all
members of the UN system at the global, regional and national
levels.
• The Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth will be the public face of
the UN Youth Strategy and will lead global advocacy efforts and its
High-Level
• Steering Committee in support of its successful implementation
• 4-Year Action plan soon.

11. What are the UN
Commitments for the
#Youth2030?

12. A Leadership Example
• The UN will support youth leadership across the organization and
build staff awareness and capacity on youth related issues.
• Mainstream structures for coordination on young people across various levels
of the UN
• Establish regular and open channels of dialogue with young people
• Capacity building on youth across its structures
• Develop a comprehensive roster of youth experts
• Expand, revamp and strengthen internship programmes within the UN

13. A Knowledge and Innovation Pioneer
• The UN will strengthen knowledge production and management
systems; become a credible source of expertise on youth
development and engagement; and facilitate evidence-based global
awareness on the realities and needs of the world’s young people.
• Vastly improving data monitoring and analysis on youth and expanding
availability of disaggregated data
• Establish an online repository of relevant information on youth and youth
work
• Establish a UN Youth Academy to discuss youth realities, trends and prospects
while sharing knowledge and experiences
• Youth Innovation Laboratories and a Common Research Agenda

14. An Investment and Solution Catalyst
The UN will accelerate resource mobilization efforts and facilitate
partnership solutions to advance the implementation of the UN Youth
Strategy and strengthen the funding base and mechanisms for youth-
focused programming and youth-led actions at all levels.
• A Global Youth Investment and Partnership Platform
• A common resource mobilization strategy
• Results-based communications
• Solution-based partnerships
• Youth participation funding
• Development of joint programmes

15. Accountability Leader
The UN will seek to ensure UN entities successfully address youth issues through
their programming; effectively and meaningfully engage young people in their
work; and track budget allocations and expenditures.
• Prepare general guidelines for all UN entities to respect the principles of
responsive youth development and meaningful youth engagement.
• Employ a youth marker system to track progress and ensure UN programming
contributes to youth empowerment and intergenerational equity;
• Encourage youth-related commitments and goals by senior UN management as
part of their annual compacts.
• Develop a system-wide approach to impartial impact evaluation of the UN’s youth
programming.
• Conduct an annual review of implementation of the Youth Strategy
• Make public information on the implementation of the Youth Strategy.

16. Similarities with AU Initiatives on Youth
• #Ownership and implementation: Equally owned by all member states
• #Youth Envoy by UN… Today AU to announce its own + Africa wide
Youth Council?
• #Clear Accountability Mechanism
• Agenda 2063’s focus on Youth

17. Similarities cont.
Aspiration 6 of Agenda 2063: an Africa which is “People-Driven, Unleashing the Potential
of its Women and Youth”, by putting children first and engaging and empowering youth.
Aspiration 6 establishes a framework that guarantees:
• All Africans, including the youth, be actively involved in all decision making processes;
• Africa be an inclusive continent with no-one left behind or excluded through
discrimination on gender, politics, religion, ethnicity, locality, age or other factors;
• African youth will be socially, economically and politically empowered with full
implementation of the African Youth Charter;
• An Africa where youth talent and potential will be fully developed, rewarded and
protected for the benefit of the society;
• All forms of systemic inequalities, exploitation, marginalisation and discrimination of
young people will be eliminated and youth issues mainstreamed in all development
agenda…

18. Particularities
• #Age
• Age AU= 15-35
• Age UN= 15-24
• *There is no universally agreed international definition of youth and UN Secretariat for statistical
purposes defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, this Strategy
considers other definitions in use by Agencies, Programmes and/or Member States without
prejudice.
• *Given that many countries use the AU age in their national youth policies, it is important to
conceptualize global youth initiatives such as #Youth2030 to the African context.
• AU’s DD refereed to both 2063 and 2030 Agendas

19. Ways Forward ???
- Disseminate and appropriate #Youth2030
- Be engaged in the new African Union youth strategy process and
ensure synergy with #Youth2030 ?
- Demand governments for concrete actions, inclusion etc.
- Reach out to UN Agencies and Fund to deliver the promises