On the occasion of the International Youth Day celebrated every year on 12 August, the network of Young Elected Local Officials UCLG Africa in collaboration with the Migration Youth and Children Platform (MYCP), and the Migration Working Group of the Major Group on Children and Youth (MGCY) of the United Nations, organized a virtual meeting on the “Contribution of young leaders to connecting green and digital transformation agendas in
African cities and territories”. Responding to the theme chosen by the Secretary General of the United Nations “Green skills for young people: towards a sustainable world this meeting had several objectives, including: sharing best practice in sustainable local entrepreneurship and involving young people in the green and digital transformation of African cities and territories. Around thirty participants took part in the discussion, which was moderated by Mistura Oyebandji, Policy Officer for Local Authorities, Migration Youth & Children Platform-MGCY. Among the main speakers were the Vice-President for West Africa of UCLG Africa’s YELO network, Hon. Abubacar Buba and Mr Florencio Venté, Co-Director of the Migration Youth and Children Platform, shared their views on the relationship between young people and green and digital transformation.
After the presentation of the session by the moderator, who recalled the importance of young people’s contribution to job creation and the opportunity they have today to change the course of events, the opening remarks were made by Jacqueline Moustache Belle, Director of the Gender & Youth Department at UCLG Africa. Ms Moustache Belle gave a brief presentation of UCLG Africa and its newly established YELO network. She then underlined why it is important to have young Africans involved in the 2 themes chosen for this meeting, namely the digital transformation and the green transformation of our cities and our continent. The future of the continent and our cities depends on their involvement, particularly in terms of political, economic and cultural choices. She invited the MGCY platform to take a greater interest in young political leaders, because it is politics that manages and makes the choices in our societies.
Mr Florencio Venté, Co-Director of the Migration Youth and Children Platform, presented his organisation and their role in the various initiatives and the youth perspective they bring to them (United Nations, GFMD, Global Compact, etc.). Emphasizing the role of young leaders, he highlighted their capacity to “Transform” and the impact they have on future generations at local, national, regional and international level. He welcomed the outstretched hand of UCLG Africa through the YELO network, which will enable us to reach out to and involve even more young people in the development of our communities.
With the intervention of the Honorable Abubacar Buba, Mayor of Lere (Kaduma State, Nigeria), participants were given some concrete elements on the involvement of young elected representatives on the issues of the “green revolution”. Underlining the fact that Africa is a blessed continent, and that 90% of its land is agrarian, it is important to develop green skills to ensure food self-sufficiency, first locally, then regionally. In his region, they are involved in the production of sugar cane, maize and beans. To encourage young people to get more involved and acquire the necessary knowledge, technical partnerships have been set up in his community to strengthen the ecological footprint of production in association with Kadume State University, which provides technical expertise. This partnership has led to the creation of a Cluster, a community of practice for young people and women, in which they are introduced to modern, environmentally-friendly production techniques.
This initiative has created a positive image for the locality and at the same time reduced idleness among young people, as well as the level of insecurity in the town. According to Mr Buba, green jobs do not require a diploma, just a willingness to work. He also encouraged young people not only to take part in agriculture, but also in arboriculture, to help build green cities, with more green space, thanks in particular to ecological trees. On digital
transformation, since the COVID 19 pandemic, efforts have been made to facilitate this transition towards a city more connected. The honorable Abubakr, when speaking, made the excellent points that his local municipality Lere, has at this current moment in time, 40% of their government being young persons. And this caused a difference during the pandemic as those with digital skills could progress further due to their learned skills.
After the speech by the Mayor of Lere, Mr F. Venté shared the experience of Mr Emmanuel
Omiat, Founder, Risk Project, who, with his organization, is building the capacities of young
people, women and in particular refugees in the agriculture and digital marketing sectors in
Uganda. His project, which is proving a success with migrants, receives funding to enable
beneficiaries, particularly women and young girls, to become genuinely independent of
UNHCR aid.
During the discussion, Hon. George Mwanza, Mayor of Chipata, expressed his satisfaction
that young leaders were interested in the issue of green skills for young people. Chipata, as a
border town (25km from Malawi), the town council organizes agricultural training sessions
for young people to create gardens and farms in the backyard. This initiative is now enabling
a number of young people to earn additional income from the sale of vegetables. In the
same town, another initiative set up by the municipal team involves planting trees and
creating a database of the trees planted. He was impressed by how eager the youth were to
participate and how fast they made strides with the skills taught. Again, like the speaker
before, he was impressed by how youth engagement changes the overall situation and
raised the fact that although the age for voting is 18 in his home country, a person running
for office must be 35 or older to run.
Hon. Geoge Mwanza and Hon. Abubaca Buba each said a few words on the participation of
young people in politics. They called for more and more young people to be involved in
territorial governance, particularly in executive bodies, to promote the vision of young
people on issues such as the environment, employment and, more particularly, self-
employment.
The participants shared a few recommendations for the two organizations:
– Create a platform for discussion between the two organizations on youth
employment issues
– Develop training programs for young people in the agricultural sector
– Promote and support reforestation programs and the creation of green spaces in
cities
