What future do young people want and how can they increase their participation in politics? This was the overarching question that formed an esteemed panel of young leaders, including The Youth Cafe’s Executive director, at the recently conducted online conference under the theme of COVID-19 & DEMOCRACY IN EAST AFRICA CONFERENCE from 19-20 November 2020. The Youth Cafe’s overarching goal around youth inclusion in politics is to increase the number of informed youth participating in the upcoming 2022 elections in Kenya, as well as increased participation of marginalized groups like women in the elections.
Advancing Jobs, Entrepreneurship, And Capacity Development For African Youth | The Youth Cafe
There is no greater asset to Africa than its youth,” a statement that has been repeatedly proclaimed, but the continent still has a long way to go. Despite robust economic growth over the past two decades, a 1 percent increase in growth between 2000–14 was associated with only 0.41 percent growth in employment. This figure suggests that employment stood at less than 1.8 percent a year, far below the nearly 3 percent annual growth in the labor force. If this trend continues, 100 million people will join the multitudes of the unemployed in Africa by 2030.