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Summary
This activity was conceptualized as part of IOM Special Liaison Office’s (SLO) to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) on migration and youth development in Africa. This shared collaboration, driven by the 4 E’s of the AU’s 1 Million Next Level Initiative, and aspirations of Agenda 2063: The Africa we Want, has led to the launch of AU IOM Migration Youth Ambassadors for Africa, who during their term will champion youth engagement in migration policies and decision-making processes on migration for the continent, including mobilization for GCM reviews, Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030.
On the basis of this partnership, IOM SLO, IOM Ghana and UNDP in collaboration with the African Union Commission’s (AUC) Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS), the African Union Sports Council (AUSC), and the AUC Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (WGYD) co-organized a Youth Pavilion at the 13th African Games which took place in Accra, Ghana from 9th – 13th of March, 2024, designed to foster engagement, empowerment, and capacity development of young people in Africa. Over 500 young people were present at the youth pavilion (with youth representatives from the 54 African Member States present). Through masterclasses, experience and knowledge sharing, interactive policy dialogues, intergenerational dialogues and various sport activities, the Youth Pavilion provided participants the opportunity to further equip themselves with essential 21st century skills, build connections through mentorship and networking opportunities and engage in meaningful dialogues with industry leaders on various issues. IOM specifically led interactive awareness raising and speed networking sessions, also facilitated by a Migration Youth Ambassador for Africa, on the 10th and 11th of March, with sessions titled “Unlocking opportunities – The Nexus of Youth Migration, Mobility and Development” and “Combating Human Trafficking for Youth Well-being and Development”, with the overall goal of enhancing dialogues and simulations centered on African youth development in the context of human mobility, skills development and transfer, trade and regular pathways. These migration centered interactive sessions were also graced with presentations and video messages by IOM Goodwill Ambassadors Paul Choy (documentary photographer), Kofi Kinata (Musician), and Ama K. Abebrese (Actress and TV Presenter).
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Benefit and Impact
The initiative generated the following outputs; a) a 5-day Youth Pavilion in which over 500 youth attended, b) 15 stalls were installed for youth entrepreneurs and innovators to showcase various avenues for youth development within the context of mobility, digitalization and transforming social landscapes, c) master classes on the practical physical activities contextualizing Sports for Development, with focus on the AfCFTA and sports in Africa, digital marketing sessions with the support of partners like Tik Tok, pitching for various entrepreneurial ideas that will boost employment and youth wellbeing, how to be a DJ, financial savings and investments, d) a mentorship fire-side chat with high level leadership within the UN system, and a motivational session by the Ghana Minister of Youth and Sports, e) as well as interactive sessions titled as follows 'Unlocking Opportunities- The Nexus of Youth Migration', 'Mobility, and Development, Combating Human Trafficking for Youth Well Being and Development', 'Sexual Reproductive Health', 'The intersection of youth, sports, and housing', 'Youth-led solutions on Climate Change, Online Safety, Dialogue on Sports and Health', 'Drop the Baton', 'GBV Ends with You'.
The impacts of this practice were measured through pre-survey and post surveys undertaken with 300 participants to understand the audience, tailor interventions and evaluate outcomes effectively. 94.8% of participants were happy with the Youth Pavilion, with 31.6 % rating it at 100% and 63.2 % rating it at 80% respectively. In line with the Youth Pavilion design, participants found the exhibition stands to be 100% effective, while 94.8 % emphasized that the activities equipped them with essential skills for personal and professional growth. Overall, the Youth Pavilion was a highly engaging initiative, bringing conversations in the development space closer to youth beneficiaries who had never heard of actions such as the agenda 2030 or the GCM. The awareness raised – even if for just one out of the 500 participants – guarantees that there is atleast one young person in each of the 54 African Member States who can champion and advocate for more positive migration pathways and management that will benefit the bulging youthful African population.
Key Lessons
IOM, AUSC, AU WGYD, UNDP, RCO and the LOC conducted weekly coordination meetings several months ahead of the games, to ensure each party was appropriately briefed and aware of developments and resources available for the set up and design of the Youth Pavilion, including the conceptualization of activities and content provided at the Pavilion. This practice of open partnership and joint communication will be adopted for future practices of this magnitude.
Recommendations(if the practice is to be replicated)
Considerations must be made for the target audience, the local contexts and the venue to guarantee smooth facilitations. In this case, considerations to the design of the Pavilion included air conditioning, generators, portable restrooms and refreshments constantly on standby to maintain the interests of the youth and ensure no interruptions were encountered. Furthermore, funding mobilization both internally and externally is essential for success, in this case the UN Residence Coordination team in Ghana led an additional mobilization of all UN agencies to secure both technical and financial resources to run various sessions at the games.
Innovation
The impacts of the practice are sustainable as it has increased the network of young people on the continent who can converse on the necessities and benefits of safe, regular, and orderly migration, as well as enhanced skills required for more skills mobility and regular pathways. The sustainability of this approach is also reflected in the number of young people who will be able to carry on lessons learnt and promote awareness raising in their respective countries and communities. In the future, the scalability of this activity is highly possible due to the emergence of sophisticated technology that will permit the attendance of young persons who could not travel to Accra for the Games and had wished to participate in the interactions at the youth pavilion. Taking this initial intervention to a bigger scale will also require considerations for design of virtual sessions that will enhance an augmented reality (AR) experience for young people who are unable to afford the travel costs of attending the next Games.
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*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).