Pre-World Youth Conference hosted in Nigeria

Organised by the Department of Human Resources Science and Technology (HRST) of the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the Nigerian government, the two-day meeting will host experts and ministers of youth from AU member countries to elaborate a consensual declaration that identifies action priorities for youth and development policies to be submitted to the next UN General Assembly; promote follow-up mechanisms for the youth agenda within the UN system; enhance dialogue between the stakeholders on youth development; and share experiences and knowledge on youth development in Africa.

Identitying priorities

According to the organisers, the pre-conference serves as an opportunity for governmental representatives to meet with the civil society organisations to identify priorities on youth issues to be included in the international agenda for development beyond the Millennium Development Goals. The forum aims to further help strengthen cooperation ties among countries and social actors to youth policies. It is expected to propose recommendations on specific actions to encourage accelerate and improve youth participation in a meaningful way to reach sustainable development.

The Abuja pre-youth conference is one of the five pre-conferences to be organised ahead of the Mexico World Youth Conference, given that each continent was requested to hold a pre-conference and submit a report for further consideration during the Mexico youth forum.