Ghana to host sub-regional conference on youth employment

Foundation for Future Leaders International (FFLI) in collaboration with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is organsing a two-day sub-regional conference in Accra, Ghana, focusing on youth employment in West Africa.

According to FFLI, one of the major challenges that have and continue to plague youth in the West Africa sub-region is unemployment.

Problems of unemployment as experienced by the educated youth and even the less educated but skilled youth have become more severe in many economies in the sub-region. This situation has often compelled the youth in expending their energies on activities detrimental to their development.

Subsequently, tackling youth unemployment in the West African sub-region means that young people are equipped with the requisite leadership, entrepreneurial skills, knowledge/education and attitudes/vales that would make them self-sufficient and independent. Entrepreneurship, particularly youth enterprise development, has been increasingly accepted over the years, as an important means or viable strategy to creating jobs and improving livelihoods and economic independence of young people to escaping poverty and leading better and more fulfilling lives

In this regard, the Foundation for Future Leaders International (FFLI) seeks to lend its support to address the problem of youth unemployment in West Africa by organizing a consultative dialogue of experts and other stakeholders. It is aimed at developing a strategic policy framework that will outline the broad issues of concerns, challenges and develop specific strategies for policy formulation to provide direction for addressing the unemployment challenge facing the youth at the sub-region. 

The two-daysroundtable dialogue will involve participants from youth organizations, the private sector, youth development experts, Academia, stakeholders, government ministries, policymakers and partner organizations from the countries within the sub-region.

It is expected that by the end of the two days a strategic framework that clearly identifies the broad policy issues and challenges as well as the specific strategies needed for effective policy formulation and implementation of youth enterprises development programmes as well as the promotion of innovation among the youth would have been outlined.

In order to ensure the effective implementation of project activities, FFLI will partner with ECA, the Government of Ghana and other partner organizations whose major focus is the promotion and development of programs and enterprises that aim at solving the problem of youth unemployment within the sub-region.

The objective of this sub-regional consultative meeting is to provide a strategic platform for the intellectual engagement of all youth development stakeholders including the youth themselves, entrepreneurs from the private sector, experts, Government officials, academia and policymakers to brainstorm at providing a strategy for  addressing youth unemployment in West Africa.