For Africa Day 2021, the African Leadership Institute sent an open Letter to African Heads of State, calling on them to include more young people in governance. It held a Zoom meeting with a high-level panel on the current poor representation of young people in governance that was widely attended. The Open Letter is published at Publications. You can watch the full Zoom meeting on AFLI's YouTube Channel.
Globally, Africa has the youngest population in the world, yet many are unemployed or marginalised. The average age on the continent is 19, yet in 2018, the average age of African Heads of State was 64 and a half years old. In it's letter to heads of government, AFLI challenged them to rectify this disproportional state of affairs.
The Open Letter was also picked up by news media.
Newzroom Afrika on DSTV Channel 405 interviewed AFLI CEO Dr Jackie Chimhanzi. In the interview, Jackie made the case that Africa's youth is its greatest opportunity, yet this opportunity is not being taken. She pointed out that the African Union had ratified measures as far back as 2006 to include more youth in leadership, yet in 2021, numbers were small. She said the Open Letter was a polite reminder to Heads of State to implement what they themselves had said they would do.
Business Day, a leading news publication in Nigeria also carried the open letter in full. You can read their post at their site.
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