Students and youth leaders who attended the 8th Africa Students and Youth Summit in Rabat, Morocco, have pledged their continuous support as partners and stakeholders in the economic, environmental, social and political development of their countries, as defined in the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and look forward to the continued support of governments in promoting youth and students’ engagement in Africa.
These were contained in a communique issued at the end of the summit which took place from the 20th to the 23rd December, 2019 in the Kingdom of Morocco. Themed The Future of Africa: Prospects and Challenges for Youth” the summit played host to 1500 delegates from over 100 countries.
At the end of the summit, the delegates declared their recognition of Africa as a continent with challenges in meeting the SDGS. They said that employment was a key issue and that the ambition of creating 12M jobs was not being achieved, yet external debts continued to rise. They enumerated migration, governance, climate change, peace and security as key concerns.
The delegates welcomed the commitments made by the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Government of the Republic of Ghana, Mauritania, Guinea, the Comoros and The Gambia at the summit and expressed the willingness of AASU to develop a long-standing partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco.
The delegates expressed their joy and satisfaction with the inclusive and steadfast support from the Government of the Republic of Ghana in hosting the headquarters of AASU and helping to position youth and students in the 21st Century in not only national but also global policy making, strategy formulation, implementation and review in various sectors.
They declared their appreciation for the development of the global student movement as captured in the Bergen Declaration on student cooperation.
Over the period 2020 – 2024, AASU’s strategic priorities would be:
a. Sustainable Development;
b. Institutional capacity building;
c. Student-centered Development and Welfare;
d. Partnerships;
e. Communication and Publicity;
They called on governments, regional bodies, development partners, institutions of learning and other stakeholders active in member states to partner with AASU to implement among others, policy recommendations on:
1) Development
2) Renaissance of the African Identity
3) Student and Youth Governance
4) Skills Development
5) Gender and Disability Issues
6) Climate Change
7) Entrepreneurship
8) Migration
The delegates expressed their heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his providence and for all his efforts and personal commitments towards the Youth in Africa and Worldwide.
Source: BusinessGhana with information from AASU