CARRYING FORWARD THE MOMENTUM OF THE 2017 AFRICAN UNION YEAR OF YOUTH

This policy brief evaluates the African Union's (AU) 2017 theme, 'Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investments in Youth.' While acknowledging the existence of frameworks like the African Youth Charter and initiatives such as the YouthConnekt Africa Summit, the authors argue that significant gaps remain in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of youth policies. The paper emphasizes that the AU lacks the power to enforce policies on member states, making the domestication of regional instruments into national law essential for meaningful youth empowerment and political inclusion.

• Africa possesses a 'youth bulge,' with approximately 65% of its total population aged between 18 and 35 years. This demographic is characterized as a large cohort that is often unemployed or underemployed due to deficiencies in education, skills, and formal work opportunities, as well as low participation in policy processes.
• The African Youth Charter (AYC), adopted in 2009, serves as the most comprehensive AU youth policy framework. However, its effectiveness is hindered by slow domestication into national legislation by member states and a lack of updated data on African youth from the AU Youth Division since 2011.
• A critical limitation of the African Union is its inability to enforce policies on member states, as proposed policies are not legally binding. Consequently, the success of AU themes and frameworks depends entirely on the willingness of individual member states to domesticate and implement them.
• Rwanda is highlighted as a success story in youth policy through the YouthConnekt initiative, launched in 2012. This program has provided opportunities for over 4 million young people (ages 16-34) in job creation, ICT innovation, and skills development, contributing to a decline in youth unemployment from 2014 to 2018.
• Youth-led movements in several countries have demonstrated the capacity of young people to demand accountability and influence governance. Examples include South Africa's 'Fees Must Fall' movement in 2016, the 'Gambia has Decided' campaign for a peaceful transfer of power, and Nigeria's 'Not Too Young To Run' campaign, which successfully lowered the presidential age requirement from 40 to 30.
• There is a systemic lack of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) regarding youth policies. The authors note a 'total absence' of M&E to measure the progress of the Youth Decade plan, and argue that without such data, policymakers cannot assess the impact of their initiatives.
• While the AU has allocated 1% of its budget to the African Youth Fund, the authors argue that youth participation remains tokenistic because young people are not involved in the budgetary process or the budget vote.

APA

MPUNGOSE, L., & MONYAE, L. (2018). CARRYING FORWARD THE MOMENTUM OF THE 2017 AFRICAN UNION YEAR OF YOUTH. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Policy-Insights-60.pdf

Chicago

MPUNGOSE, LUANDA, and LENNON MONYAE. CARRYING FORWARD THE MOMENTUM OF THE 2017 AFRICAN UNION YEAR OF YOUTH. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Policy-Insights-60.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MPUNGOSE |first1=LUANDA |last2=MONYAE |first2=LENNON |title=CARRYING FORWARD THE MOMENTUM OF THE 2017 AFRICAN UNION YEAR OF YOUTH |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Policy-Insights-60.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mpungose2018carrying, author = {MPUNGOSE, LUANDA and MONYAE, LENNON}, title = {{CARRYING FORWARD THE MOMENTUM OF THE 2017 AFRICAN UNION YEAR OF YOUTH}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Policy-Insights-60.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }