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The 29th African Union (AU) Summit is currently underway at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with several high level sessions taking place between 27 June and 4 July 2017. This year’s theme is Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth.

AFIDEP is participating at the 4^th African Union High Level Panel on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment from 29 June ““ 1 July 2017. The focus of the high level panel which was officially opened by H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) on 29 June 2017 is aligned with the Summit’s 2017 theme Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments In Youth, with emphasis on the empowerment of young women and girls. Representing AFIDEP at one of the sessions at the high level event is Dr. Bernard Onyango, Knowledge Translation Scientist. Dr. Onyango shall be presenting on the key policy options on Education and Digital Skills Development within the context of the African Union Demographic Dividend Roadmap.

 African Union Demographic Dividend Priority Investment Pillars

 Source: AFIDEP (2017).

In his presentation, Dr. Onyango shall highlight the main policies on education and digital skills development, specific global, continental or regional targets attached to the policies, progress on implementation, policy gaps, as well as strategies and recommendations for action to scale up implementation. Discussants at the session will respond to the issues brought to the fore in his presentation. The discussants will also share experiences and good practices, as well as propose any additional gaps, strategies and recommendations for consideration.

Overall, the high level panel seeks to define concrete actions to empower young women and girls to scale up implementation of policy priorities and decisions in the four pillars of the AU Demographic Dividend Agenda. Discussions will focus on how to translate the components in the AU demographic dividend roadmap into more tangible investments in young women and girls in order to harness the demographic dividend in Africa. Further, the high level panel provides an opportunity for youth to influence policy and also facilitate formation of strategic partnerships critical in taking the demographic dividend agenda forward.

The high level panel comes ahead of 29^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union which takes place from 3-4 July 2017. The forum is convened by the AUC’s Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD) in collaboration with the Department for Human Resource, Science and Technology (HRST), the Department of Social Affairs (DSA), the Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security (OSE), and in partnership with United Nations and Civil Society Partners