The 6th Heads of State Summit of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) will take place in February 2022, the youth intend to take an active and vocal place in the process. Youth Summits/Meetings have been always held weeks before the Head of State Summits took place.
A pivotal moment: Abidjan Youth Summit in 2017 - designing the Youth Agenda
Together, African, European and Diaspora youth, aimed at highlighting the role they played in the economic and social development of young people in both continents. In Abidjan, “Investing in Youth for Accelerated Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development” was seen as a necessary condition to build a sustainable future. This involved, working collectively towards the issues preventing progress within our interconnected societies and moving forward together.
The "Abidjan Declaration" written by youth organizations gave several recommendations to the African and European heads of states urging them to invest in youth in order to guarantee a sustainable environment for generations to come.
Strategic themes were developed in order to provide a "roadmap" and a sort of compass for African and European leaders. Our remarks were well welcomed resulting in the creation of a follow-up program: the Youth-Plug In, that gave 36 Youth Summit participants the possibility to continue working in clusters on priority topics. This process birthed a specific fund for youth organizations on both continents. However, as the funding is not accessible for all youth organizations, a respective adaptation of this fund is necessary.