It is incontrovertible that the peace and security challenges experienced in Africa from the 1990s put continental and international attention on the key roles played by young men and women in episodes of armed conflict and insecurity. Successive wars and violations of formal peace agreements and processes across the continent further heightened the attention and concern of policy institutions to the participation of youth in armed conflicts and violence. Across the divide, young people continue to constitute the core of combatants, while also representing a significant number of those affected by armed conflicts, violent extremism, banditry, violent protests and gender-based violence in Africa. For instance, in addition to disruption of education and youth-sensitive socio-economic activities, “estimates of direct conflict deaths in 2015 suggest that more than 90 percent of all casualties involved young males.”
Young People can Capably Lead Africa Into the Future | The Youth Cafe
By Aya Chebbi, African Union Youth Envoy
Aya Chebbi of Tunisia is the first-ever youth envoy of the African Union. Her appointment in November 2018 boosts the AU’s efforts to include the talents and skills of the continent’s bulging youth population in achieving its Agenda 2063, a framework for Africa’s socioeconomic transformation. Ms. Chebbi is expected to promote, among other issues, youth leadership and participation in governance, gender equality, safe migration, employment and climate change action. Raphael Obonyo, a youth activist, interviewed Ms. Chebbi for Africa Renewal on a range of issues affecting Africa’s young people. These are excerpts.