Africa has the youngest population in the world, which is expected to more than double by 2055. To take advantage of this enormous potential, strategies to scale up training as well as job and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youth are urgently needed.
The World Export Development Forum provides a platform for business leaders, women in trade, policymakers and also young entrepreneurs to explore trade solutions that are practical and business-oriented, especially in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
A strong focus on youth will be highlighted through the Youth Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Forum (YES!), a young entrepreneurs pitch competition and the Youth Media Zone.
The Youth Media Zone is a space for youth representatives from all over the world to open up a dialogue about issues that concern young entrepreneurs. These include access to finance, digital technology, and climate change and other topics related to the theme of the World Export Development Forum: Trade and Invest in One Africa.
Young entrepreneurs, journalists, bloggers, vloggers will make the youth’s voice heard through interactive sessions, interviews, videos, online events. They will bring in the conversation business and political leaders and development experts participating in the World Export Development Forum week’s events.
Objectives
The aim of the Youth Media Zone is to bridge the gap between leaders and the youth to ultimately influence policy that truly benefits the young people.
The Zone will:
- Encourage further collaboration of the youth and leaders, both multilateral and national leaders on trade and investment in Africa;
- Help connect several actors whose goals align;
- Give a voice to promising young talents in different areas, including business and media;
- Facilitate the production of content – i.e. feature stories of young entrepreneurs – to be disseminated through different communications channels during and after the event.
Timeframe
The Youth Media Zone will be ongoing during the week of 18-22 November 2019 with several specific activities per day such as interviews, talks and music shows. The schedule of the activities will allow participants to be involved in both the World Export Development Forum sessions and the Youth Media Zone.
Target Audience
Youth networks, business and political leaders, development experts, World Export Development Forum attendees, media.
Venue and Setup
The Youth Media zone will be setup in one of the briefing rooms at AU headquarters and will include a lounge area, a speaker’s corner and a few filming and social media stations, including Facebook and or Instagram live.
It will be branded with the World Export Development Forum visual identity, the logos of the partners and of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Management
The overall management of the Youth Media Zone will be with the International Trade in close partnership with Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA).
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