The current generation is living a historical moment, the biggest portion of the human population is youth between 18-26 years old, 1.8 Billion,  in particular in Asia and Africa continent. The forecast is that by 2050, Africa will host 391 million youth.

However, nowadays, youth are preparing themselves for their future career but according to the World Economic Forum, several of the current job roles will not exist by 2050. UN Today states that over 63 million youth are working, still living in poverty 60% of all those unemployed in Africa are youth. In South Africa, more than 55% of young people are unemployed. Half the population of MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) is under 25 years old, and their unemployment rate hovers at a staggering 30%.

On the 2nd of April 2019, in Abuja took place Jobs4Youth, Regional YouthSpeak Forum organized by AIESEC in the Middle East and Africa.

YouthSpeak Forum powered by AIESEC is an event run by youth for youth. The event empowers young people to understand how they can contribute to the SDGs through short and powerful talks and sparks an interest in self-development through skills-building workshops.

The event collected more than 400 youth from all around the region to discuss youth employment and to co-create new solutions in collaboration with partners and the third sector.

Jobs4Youth started with a keynote of our main partner of the event. Microsoft’s Marcoms Coordinator, Yemi Orimolade inspired all participants showing interesting data about the Job market and the relevance of technology and digital skills, like coding, essential for the future and in particular the relevance for the African continent, sharing with the audience the story of a girl that thanks to Microsoft programs learn important skills for her future, like how to code.

The morning continued with a Panel discussion on the Sustainable Development Goal 8 : Decent Job and Economic Growth, getting relevant tips for the future.

The panel discussion saw as main speakers, representatives from OSSAP-SDGs Government of Nigeria, Global Shapers Abuja Hub, Teens Can Code, Humanely, Civic Lab.

All activities continued in the afternoon with 3 different workshops hosted by Civic Lab, Cowrywise, and Microsoft. The aim of the workshops was to teach concrete soft skills like social media marketing, finance management, and coding.

Jobs4Youth ultimate goal was to create a tangible solution to the issues discussed: unemployment and poverty, that’s why we close the day with the Act space to generate new ideas and solution.

More than 400 youth collaborate to create a solution focused on agriculture and entrepreneurship, capitalizing on all insights collecting throughout the day.

Jobs4Youth, Youth Speak Forum, was organized for the first time in the Middle East and Africa and this could never have been possible without the support of our partners: Microsoft, Ethiopian Airlines, OSSAP-SDGs Government of Nigeria, Global Shapers Abuja Hub, Teens Can Code, Humanely, Civic Lab.  and the participation of youth from all over the region.

AIESEC in the Middle East and Africa will present the solution created to the regional bilateral organization to amplify the impact.