 Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen Thank you very much and welcome for joining us in the side event Which has been organized by the permanent mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt And we are very glad to welcome in our midst the minister Excellency dr. Gadda Wali minister of social solidarity of Egypt We have with us on the panel Miss Helker representing the director general of the IOM Ambassador Ken Okinawa deputy permanent representative of the mission of Japan and Last but not least miss Basma al-sayed as a representative of the World Youth Forum so welcome to all the Panelists at the high table and to yourselves Today we are going to have this discussion on the African youth and sustainable development as We are all aware We've had for several years now and a focus and an emphasis on the importance of youth Particularly in Africa because we are an extremely youthful continent as The moderator for this afternoon session. I wish to share with you also some of the Programs that the African Union and the member states of the African Union have also embarked upon to Address the challenges that our youth are facing these days I am assuming that you've all had The opportunity of looking at the concept note Which was circulated and it quite correctly identifies a number of key challenges Now if we look at Africa's agenda 2063 the Africa we want Aspirations six states an Africa whose development is people driven relying on the potential of African people especially its woman and youth and Caring for children The AU has developed several youth development policies and programs at Continental level aimed at ensuring that the continent benefits from its demographic dividend the policies Include the African youth charter The youth decade plan of action and the Malabo decision on youth empowerment Empowerment all of which are implemented through various African Union agenda 2063 programs The African youth charter protects young people from discrimination and ensures freedom of movement speech Association religion ownership of property and other human rights while committing to promoting youth participation throughout society The youth decade plan of action focuses on five key priority areas Education and skills development youth employment and entrepreneurship governance peace and security youth health and sexual reproductive health rights Agriculture climate change and the environment The Malabo declaration on creating employment for accelerating youth development and employment for sustainable development Commits AU members to create safe Decent and competitive employment opportunities. I might add that the African Union also has a youth volunteer call as a Continental development program which recruits Youth volunteers to work in all 54 countries across Africa in November last year the chairperson of the African Union Commission His Excellency Musa Faki Muhammad appointed Miss Aya Chibi as the special envoy on youth with a mandate to serve as a representative of and Advocate for the voices and interests of African youth to the relevant African Union decision-making bodies Advocating for implementation of the African youth charter the demographic dividend roadmap and agenda 2063 having Mentioned in brief what the African Union is doing in this regard It is my pleasure to invite her Excellency Dr. Gadda Wally to share with us what the Arab Republic of Egypt is doing in this regard and how we are looking at addressing some of the challenges Thank you very much minister the floor is yours. Thank you ambassador Ladies and gentlemen distinguished ambassadors and delegates dear friends It is my great pleasure to participate in this side event on African youth and Sustainable development a topic which we already touched upon briefly in this morning session Like the rest of Africa Egypt boasts a youth population that exceeds 50% of the country's total population making it one of the most youthful countries in the world and Also, like the rest of Africa Egypt is heavily invested in Empowering its youth and giving them the tools to create a better tomorrow There's no doubt that lack of quality education in adequate investment and lack of economic opportunities Are among the most important drivers that compel young people to leave their homes and search for prosperity elsewhere Studies have shown that the main driver for migration among African youth is Indeed the lack of employment opportunities followed by the quest for education As the vast majority of migrants from and within Africa are aged between 16 and 34 It is absolutely essential to empower young people to fully participate in their societies It is also essential to guarantee that young people migrate in conditions of freedom Dignity and safety allowing them to contribute to economic and social development both within their countries of origin and in the countries of destination The global compact for safe orderly and regular migration GCM which is strongly rooted in the SDGs recognizes this reality and Establishes as one of its aims to mitigate the adverse drivers of structural factors that hinder people from building and maintaining Sustainable livelihoods in their countries of origin and so compel them to seek a future elsewhere the GCM therefore Recognizes that without investing in sustainable development and creating opportunities in countries of origin People and especially youth will continue to move out of desperation rather than choice Investing in achieving the SDGs is also necessary to unleash the full potential of youth to achieve Sustainable development and harness the benefits of migration for all Objective two of the GCM spells out a commitment to implement agenda 2030 Echoing in part SDG 8 which calls for among other things the promotion of development oriented policies to support decent job creation and Entrepreneurship as well as encourage the formalization and growth of micro small and medium-sized enterprises Including through access to financial services and financial inclusion Objective two of GCM also echoes SDG for our inclusive education for all Calling for the development of human capital through increased investment in education Vocational training and skills development programs and partnerships with a view to reducing youth unemployment and avoiding brain drain We must work on endowing our youth with labor market relevant skills and ensure equal opportunities for young women and men and here I really need to Explain that Egypt has embarked on a massive reform of its educational system both a regular education and vocational education It's a new reform that is moving us in the new era and took in us in the future and equipping our youth with The state of the art knowledge and skills that they need It equally reflects SDG for on poverty eradication Central to which is the scaling up of social protection programs in order to leave no one behind These same goals and values are reflected in the African Union's agenda 2063 which seeks to achieve Africa structural transformation in the social economic environmental and technological fields Ladies and gentlemen central to achieving the objectives of agenda 2030 and agenda 2063 is the sharing of best practices and lessons learned between African countries and Strengthening international cooperation and partnerships in line with the spirit of the GCM It is within this context that I would like to share Egypt's experience in the area of social and economic development With particular focus on the empowerment of youth this morning I mentioned Egypt's initiatives in the area of youth engagement a topic that will be addressed in more detail by other speakers on this panel In the area of economic and social reform Egypt has embarked on an ambitious reform program that includes a number of development initiatives Egypt's 2030 vision seeks to achieve inclusive economic and social development in line with agenda 2030 and agenda 2063 Through the four pillars of economic development social justice environment and knowledge and innovation in the area of employment generation Egypt is working tirelessly to create more jobs and better jobs a comprehensive economic reform program and employment generation strategy has led to a sharp drop in the unemployment rate to 7.5 percent. This is the lowest rate since 2003 Realizing the centrality of private sector job creation for the country's future Egypt has endeavored in cooperation with the international partners such as the World Bank to create a business environment That is conducive to private sector development Economic empowerment of youth also requires planning ahead to harness the potential of new technologies as a driver of development in The area of innovation technology and entrepreneurship Egypt established the first regional center for entrepreneurship with the aim of providing support for startups and skills training for young people It also established the Fikretak-Shirketak idea is your company incubation center providing support and training for young entrepreneurs Simultaneously in order to make sure the job growth can keep up with the growing working age population Egypt is working on providing access to finance for its young people To establish micro small and medium enterprises Recognized worldwide as a principal engine for economic growth today MSMEs generate almost 75 percent of employment in the private sector Through a number of partners such as the international labor organization Egypt is bringing such access to finance to a number of government rates Including to rural economy in order to make sure that no one is left behind In another endeavor to leave no one behind the Ministry of Social Solidarity Launched the takeful and Karama programs. It's a conditional cash transfer program Which was launched in 2015 to support the country's extreme poor address inequalities between rural and urban areas and assist The most vulnerable through providing cash transfer to approximately 2.2 million Egyptian families in those 2.2 million Egyptian families that are 9 million individuals and this is added to the previous number of a million Individuals already receiving cash transfer So the total number of families receiving cash transfers in Egypt is 3.2 million Egyptian families below the poverty line Ladies and gentlemen the other side of the coin is the complex and multifaceted relationship between migration and sustainable development is the recognition of the development benefits of youth migration Egypt has been a strong advocate of the need for a holistic and comprehensive approach to migration That views it as a positive phenomenon which can contribute to international development However, harnessing such benefits and opportunities for youth requires robust evidence-based migration policies and the creation of regular Pathways that ensure safe decent and orderly migration SDG target 10.7 Recognizes the need for comprehensive policy frameworks that promote regular and decent migration and thus leverage its positive development impact for all Migration migrant youth can introduce important benefits to their countries of destination such as skills labor investment and cultural diversity Simultaneously, they significantly benefit their countries of origin through the transfer of knowledge skills and financial resources In order to be able to harness the potential of youth to implement the SDGs in Africa a number of challenges need to be addressed Implementing the SDGs require the provision of adequate resources Including through ODA FDI public and private resources There's also a need to reduce the transaction costs of migrant remittances in line of agenda 2030 and expand Scholarships available to African countries We must do more to encourage partnership between stakeholders to respond to various challenges confronting development in Africa Such as peace and security trade obstacles and the impacts of climate change African development also requires the provision of technical and financial Assistance to African countries to help them create holistic legal and political migration management systems One major partner for both Egypt and the broader African continent has been Japan which has invested in education Infrastructure economic and social development as the recent Tokyo international conference on African development has recently showed We hope the same good practices can be emulated by other international partners to upscale development efforts in Africa There's also a need to build upon and adequately implement existing frameworks such as the joint valetta action plan launched by the EU and EU heads of state in 2015 under the action plan the leaders made commitments in five pillars namely the development aspects of migration and addressing root causes including economic development promoting regular pathways for migration Return and reintegration of migrants combating trafficking and irregular migration Protection and asylum it is absolutely necessary to implement the valetta action plan in a comprehensive manner That gives equal weight to all five domains Africa also needs to forge increased international partnerships and capitalized on existing frameworks to better manage migration The global compact for migration and its associated capacity building mechanism and multi-partner trust funds Is an important development in this regard? It must be implemented with due regard to the 360 degree approach and with equal importance given to the five cluster areas of Promoting an evidence-based migration discourse protecting the safety of migrants combating irregular migration facilitating regular migration and improving integration of migrants Migration management requires a whole of society and a whole of government approach that brings together Different stakeholders in order to make sure it acts as a transformative force for societies to achieve sustainable development Mr. Moderator and colleagues on the panel. I wished to continue and spend the rest of the session with you I was very keen to attend and be with you today However, I have a plane that I have to catch so I will be keeping an eye on his excellency the ambassador in Egypt So whenever given the instructions to leave I will have to excuse myself. Thank you very much, and I wish you a very successful discussion Thank you very much indeed. Honorable minister as you were delivering your your statement It struck me as to how many other countries in Africa have similar approaches because it applies to almost all of us on the continent and If we all pursue this matter would a great amount of vigor and determination We can make a difference in the lives of our youth you have touched upon a lot of very critical factors in your address and I think we will be able to hear from our colleague ambassador Okinawa what His perspective would be coming from a partner country to Africa Attempting to assist us out of this predicament. We have but let me Reassure you that Ambassador Yusuf is a very influential person. He can delay planes from departing from Geneva if the need arises So we leave it in his hands Ambassador Okinawa if you would please Thank you, Ambassador Bramdale. I like to thank minister Wally for kind words to Japan and also for hosting this event, which is very important Distinguished delegates ladies and gentlemen Japan hosted the seventh meeting of Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TCAD 7, in end of August this year the meeting was attended or co-chaired by President LCC of Egypt as chair of AU and also Prime Minister Abe of Japan with the attendance of 53 countries including 42 heads of state from African continent The theme of the of the meeting was advancing Africa's development through people technology and innovation And so all these elements are related to today's event The declaration adopted at the meeting stressed the importance of private sector development digital transformation youth and women entrepreneurship It also Mentioned how to deal with a regular migration The linkages between the private sector Connectivity technology and innovation was also mentioned because technology most of the technology is Used in the private sector for generating growth It also committed to education at all stages and I do feel that the Education is not only for a certain age People at a certain age, but I think for all stages as they are And also for people who are the latest stage in life The science technology engineering and mathematics were identified as key driver for achieving AU agenda 2063 and STGs and I do think Egypt is taking the same approach to tackling this challenge If you if you need to be minister, you know, I hope I'm not keeping you from going to the airport I'll just I'll just continue if I may Regarding the migration and the space persons The declaration supported a long-term development approach and durable solutions To strengthen the self-reliance and release the zillions of displaced population and also host communities This is an approach that we fully support Because that durable solutions is not only I guess one time support to these people that the This the vulnerable Displaced population also host communities need to be equipped or empowered to be able to lead Self-reliance and also livelihoods and so that they are able to make decisions for themselves One project that Japan funded recently In Sierra Leone is the IOM project Which aims at reducing The risk of irregular migration through employment promotion and entrepreneurship support for the young people We supported The young people who came I guess from the rural areas to find work in the cities But there are there is a high rate of unemployment The project provides training to such young people and the Juice manufacturing company in the capital And also provide a business skills training As well as to educate them about the dangers of human trafficking We hope that the truth more than 2,000 people who will be trained through this project will be able to be self-reliant Possibly start a new business and find better lives in in wherever they are aside from the well this kind of International organization projects that we fund at Ticat 7 Japan announced the Strengthening of the existing initiative for the youth It's called the African business education initiative for youth and the Deviation is abey initiative which happens to be abey happens to be the name of our prime minister for short This is a very unique initiative in which African young people are accepted to Japanese graduate schools for Technical Education and mostly in technology related areas and they also do interns at Japanese companies Which already have some kind of business with Africa? Through this program the African youth Learned the not only the technology and know-how but also the work ethics in Japan and the business culture in Japan and through this they also I think if they would like if they want they are also I Introduced to Japanese companies who are encouraged to employ them in their operations in Africa the interesting thing is that the intern through the internship and the studies they are able to I guess finds Skills and solutions to the problems that Africa face today such as a waste management in which the Japanese company is investing in a high temperature incinerator in Kenya and The Kenyan youth was learning about how the high temperature incinerator and waste management can solve environmental problems in the country We also have for example a program on Education on using satellite imagery and also geographical information systems to anticipate the droughts and floods or promote agriculture and Also exploration of natural resources on the ground Japan pledge to implement Training for 3,000 people in the next six years We have already accepted Quite a few in the during the last six years under this initiative Another thing that we another initiative that I like to mention is that we pledge to train 140,000 people I think mostly young people to To provide high-level engineering education through the schools that we have supported in Africa I'll just finish by mentioning that we also have an initiative to promote science and Mathematic education in Africa From 2016 to 2019 we Training 20,000 teachers for mathematics and science the in this science and technology area Egypt and Japan is have a sim Corporating in the Egypt Japan University of Science and Technology Which is based in Cairo and Alexandria We have trained 25,000 highly skilled people in science and technology including artificial intelligence and I think this kind of activity shows that Africa can take advantage of the innovative technology that is available So that they do not have to I think they can be Competing with other countries. Thank you very much Thank you very much for giving us that succinct overview and synopsis of how the partnership between Africa and Japan is working To empower the youth Certainly It's music to our ears because in 2017 it may be recalled that the African Union theme for the year was Harnessing the demographic dividend through investment in youth and so we all appreciate the value of our youth the change that they can bring about and What we need to facilitate their entry into mainstream mainstream economy into society To create for them the space where they can Move in and make a difference to society and take us forward as the future leaders Having said that I shall now call upon Miss Basma al-sayed as a representative of the youth To share with us the youth's perspective on some of these very critical issues Thank you very much, and thanks to I am for giving us the space to speak today I'm Basma. I'm representing the World Youth Forum Let me first give you a quick brief about the World Youth Forum before taking you to our how the World Youth Forum is Contributing to African youth and sustainable developments is the title of our session today. So first Back in 2016 President CC had a vision of empowering youth and giving us the chance to Explore and to give us the tools To be present better in our country. So he announced 2016 as the year of youth and Launched the first presidential leadership program, which I'm personally a graduate of the first batch of that program The program basically was there to give us skills over the course of nine months With a lot of side activities that included us visiting the parliament visiting different ministries and getting an insight of what's really happening inside the government and Through the PLP was the ideation and the boring of the youth conferences Which like I think we we have more than 10 conferences that happened since 2016 and We as a group of young graduates of the presidential leadership program the first batch came up with the idea of having an international conference where youth from around the world can come to Egypt and we can discuss and Come up with ideas of how we can make our countries better and how we can contribute to our countries And that was when that we first had the first World Youth Forum back in 2017 We had a lot of people young people coming from all over the world And we found that we have established a very good network a very strong network with a lot of nationalities a lot of young people from the age range of 18 to 30 years old and In 2000 after the conference in 2017 We found out that a lot of people met in the conference and they started up their own startups or projects Which means that they got to meet through the World Youth Forum and that's how they got to know each other and they actually started Having their own businesses through the World Youth Forum network. So in 2018 we wanted to shed light more on the ecosystem of startups and how Not only Egypt, but the region is focusing a lot of us on startups And they know that it's a solution or it's a key to a better economic system in the region So we start up some we started something called the startup vein, which was basically a Stage for startups and good case practices to come and tell us their stories and how they overcome different challenges that startups face around the world not only in Egypt or not only in Africa and We had a lot of startups come and showcase their projects And it was actually a huge success to the extent that at the end of the conference the president announced That he asked the World Youth Forum as an entity to start Building and establishing a regional hub to support startups and that's how we got the idea of the World Youth Forum labs and it was announced in March 2019 We started the World Youth Forum labs and we had what we started by supporting the first startup It's an application that is more of trying to be a better or a more advanced version of LinkedIn So we started the World Youth Forum labs and basically it's a Start a startups hub For all start supporting all startups from around the world We try to connect youth to youth as mentioned we have a huge network So youth who have different ideas and can work together so we connect youth to youth We could next use to government and that's our edge because we have a huge support from the government and the from and from the President so we try to overcome the challenges that you that startups face By by giving them the opportunity to talk to the different ministries for example and We connect youth to investors So we we will be holding like for example at the end of this year with the third World Youth Forum We're going to be holding different Networking sessions to allow the startups to get to meet investors and potential VCs for example And finally we connect youth to The government I mentioned the government youth to funding as well. So if they have the option to get to Meet with different banks for instance that have different Supporting programs for startups. They we offer them the network to connect through that Not only that we like talking about our topic here in the session on African youth So for example, we also had the African plp or the African presidential leadership program Which is a version of the plp, but specifically focusing on African nations. We had one Batch graduated already from that program. It's basically giving them the skills to be able to be Better like government leaders or work within their governments better If we talk about migration and creating draw when we always when we talk about migration and how to bet to have to control or harness into Irregular migration. It's basically give youth good job opportunities or give them the space to create their own Self-employment opportunities and they'll be satisfied where they are and they won't move out of their countries So basically creating job opportunities that would result in a decent life Making migration to youth an option and not a necessity So this will also help on the long run achieving the development of African nations as well as achieving the 2063 agenda of Africa the African Union So that's basically what the world youth forum does what WIF labs aim to do and would be happy to To answer any questions later on after we finish if you have thank you. Thank you very much Basma We are heartened when we hear the youth being so constructive and forward-looking Of course the opportunity has to present itself for our youth to then Seize the opportunity in order to maximize on its benefits What is clear and I think all of us can agree with that is that if our youth are given the skills the education the Technological know-how if they are innovative if they have access to finance and if they are allowed the space in Which to develop then the last thing on their mind is going to be to leave their country of birth All youth I'm assuming Patriotic they want to remain in the countries and leave only Out of choice when they are made offers They cannot refuse but not in desperation because they have no other choice and so they choose to Leave the country of birth whether it's through regular or irregular means But sustainable development and the youth is certainly a topic that is going to be with us for a long time to come and as we still have a few minutes I would like to Open the floor for any observations comments contributions Or even questions. I I know that many of Africa's partners are present in the room all of whom have been reliable and Resourceful in working with Africa on youth development Sustainable development issues. So if any of you would like to Take the floor, please feel free to do so your excellency Libya Thank You Your Excellency, and thank you very much for moderating this important session certainly the presentations are very enlightening and We would like to thank the Panelists for their presentations and certainly the role that Japan Continues to play as being a positive force to the African challenges And I congratulate Mrs. Sayed that's my say it for her success and wish her continued success her and the many thousands of African youth that Would be a thriving force for leading the continent out of the current challenges I think all we heard is is great elements that lead to success Coming from Libya I think you will understand that I would like to share and shed another important element that would be very important to the Drivers that you had mentioned Mr. Moderator in in and the ability for youth to look forward to a positive future and Unfortunately in Libya today those elements while they're important they're the Necessary pillars for a driving force for a positive future But there is one other element that regrettably Libyans cannot look forward to this future today Because of the instability that we have in Libya peace is needed We must have Peace in order to have stability to be able to look forward To affording our youth the chance like other youths around the world to thrive and Capitalize on these other pillars that you had just mentioned And we look forward to the world community To be strong enough to take a position For supporting peace in Libya Supporting the stop of war in a country that cannot afford To go through what it's going through today It's not only affecting Libyans and since we are here under the IOM emblem Many other thousands of brothers and sisters of Africa that are passing through Libya in Seeking their aspirations whether wherever that may be and usually that is Often the case to be in the northern shores of the Mediterranean. They're also faced with Very troubling times under the current war situation in Libya so I hope that the international community can be a little bit more forceful and standing for peace in Libya and Putting a stop to the current It's turmoil that we are enduring. Thank you very much. Thank you, Excellency. I think that call resonates with all of us and it's a very valid and legitimate Appeal that you make Far too many migrants far too many youth have had to sacrifice and pay the ultimate price for wars that they did not bring upon themselves and it's really unfortunate that Many of the people who are fleeing today Actually doing so from conflict Is there any other request for the floor any of the panelists like to say something Additional. No, thank you, Ambassador. No, I just want to say that the I think Education is very important for any country but for for Japan We attach importance to education in any situation Including humanitarian and also the distaste persons because we know from our experience and our history that Human resources is the most important resource for a country and then also the youth are the future of future generations and this is a very fundamental position that The Japanese government has taken I think and it's a point that the Prime Minister always makes and and the Import this is an important period because it is the young people who are embracing more the new technological change and the younger younger generation are more bit better able to absorb Technology and and so in that sense, I think it's extremely important that the technological innovations and education in such Areas are available to the youth and and they will provide and they can come up with solutions for the situation that they're in and That's why we attach importance to cooperation in the area of innovative technology accepting young people from Africa and also Trying to promote Japanese company hiring them and then have activities in Africa. Thank you very much Thank you I think I just Have a very small note is that We're lucky that we've been We had a government and a president that believed in youth So he gave us the chance as you were saying if we have a chance and have on a personity We won't we will seize that so once we are given these chances We definitely will not just let it go but we'll seize that and that's what happened with the world youth forum And I completely agree that it starts with education and even the WIF labs that came from a world youth forum came from a Program that only taught youth some skills so the presidential leadership program and I honestly believe that Entrepreneurship education is extremely important nowadays because none of us like and I'm not speaking of all youth But like a huge percentage of youth do not really want to work in a job or like a normal job instead We want to have our own space to create To to innovate so self-employment is something that I think we should really Encourage youth to to have and to promote better Thank you very much indeed Well, I Shall Safely say that seeing there are no other requests for the floor That this event is drawing to a close I would like to on behalf of the Mission the permanent mission of Egypt Who organized the side event to thank you all for being with us to? Thank in particular the panelists who were with the with us sharing their views and ideas and To say that we shall meet again on another occasion. Thank you very much