Accra- Ghana will host the Fifth Africa Think Tank Summit on Youth Unemployment from April 5 – 7, 2018.
The Summit is to propose strategies and recommendations as well as share experiences on how think tanks could help in tackling youth unemployment in Africa.
It is organised by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), which is expected to attract 200 participants from within and outside Africa.
A statement issued by the ACBF and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, on Wednesday, said the event would be held on the theme: ”Tackling Africa’s Youth Unemployment Challenge: Innovative Solutions from the Think Tanks”.
High unemployment remains a major development challenge in Africa where it could rise up to 50 per cent in some countries, with the average rate hovering around eight per cent in the year 2016 and 2017, the statement said.
It said delegates would discuss the role that effective leadership could play in addressing the challenge, share experiences on how to develop the requisite private sector that can create jobs for the youth and reflect on building the critical technical skills necessary for sustainable youth employment opportunities.
”They will equally be expected to offer practical solutions for youth unemployment on the Continent through sharing of innovations, and good practices, including entrepreneurship in key sectors such as agriculture, finance and ICT,” it stated.
The ACBF is expected to enhance the commitment of think tanks to proactively support the successful implementation of the Africa Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, which focused on job creation at the end of the three-day event.
The summit would provide a platform for networking through exchange of ideas, knowledge and relevant experiences and good practices on what needs to be done to effectively and sustainably tackle youth unemployment on the Continent.
More so, it would equip think tanks to engage policy-makers, the private sector and non-state actors in finding solution to the youth unemployment phenomenon.
Resource persons from different professional backgrounds including policy makers, captains of industry, leading academics from Africa and beyond are expected to speak and provide insights on pragmatic approaches to solving youth unemployment.
The ACBF, since its establishment, has created and supported more than 41 think tanks across Africa and strengthened the formulation and implementation of strategic national policies to promote economic prosperity, political stability and social justice for Africans.
Source: Ghana News Agency
