The youth from the East African Community have resolved to champion free trade in the region at the Youth Leadership Summit held in Arusha, Tanzania.
In an interview with The City Review yesterday, a Member of Parliament representing South Sudan at the summit, Jesus Deng Atem, said it was vital to discuss free trade for the mutual benefit of the member states.
“We held very important discussions on customs because South Sudan holds trade with most of its neighbouring countries, and it would be beneficial if free trade were encouraged,” he said.
He added that the ‘YouLead’ summit was interactive and beneficial to the youth in boosting leadership skills.
The summit was attended by participants from 27 African countries, including over 30 young Members of Parliament from South Sudan.
Atem said it was a memorable continental summit and a pool of knowledge for African youth.
Youth employment
In a press statement released by the East African Community (EAC), the summit called for “Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry”. The project for the summit launched the matchmaking platform for skills on Tuesday in Arusha, Tanzania.
The online platform called ‘Digital Skills’ was suggested by the Secretary-General of the East African Community, Dr Peter Mutuku Mathuki, and the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tanzania, Regine Hess.
The platform is aimed at bridging the skills gap regarding digital skills for the application and development of digital products, and services that are needed in the region.
“Skillsmatch is an easy to use online platform for providing businesses and young professionals with relevant matches to their needs, supported by Artificial Intelligence,” the statement read in part.
“Our goal is to help the youth in the EAC become better skilled to lead transformational change in the business environment under the current trend of digitalisation. Together, we have an incredible responsibility and opportunity to share our experiences authentically and ensure that our collaborative efforts are shaping the next generation of youth employment and innovation transfer,” said Amb. Hess.
John Bosco Kalisa, East African Business Council (EABC) CEO, said that most of the executives and managers have reported that their organizations face skill gaps or expect gaps to develop in the next five years.
“One-third of companies’ workforces across East Africa face disruptions resulting from technology and market trends that require reskilling of professionals; thus, it is relevant that the market has available a pool of talent that can help support businesses for socio-economic growth,” he said.
Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona, the Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA), said they were exerting efforts so that regional universities in the region could produce resourceful graduates to reduce unemployment.
“We urge companies to use the Skillsmatch platform to spotlight and prompt action around key challenges to digital inclusion by supporting young professionals to gain industry practical experience through internships,”, he said.
Digital skills is a project of the EAC in partnership with the German government to strengthen employment and innovation-related digital skills for youth in EAC to support the industry’s digital transformation.
It is said to be implemented by Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), at the Nelson Mandela African Institute for Science and Technology, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and an East African-German academic consortium including DAAD and the University of Oldenburg.
Investing in youth
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urged African leaders to invest in youth so that they could participate in continental economic and political affairs for African productivity and the promotion of entrepreneurship.
President Kenyatta said youth ideas could alleviate the impacts of climate change and the effects of COVID-19.
“I urge my fellow leaders and policymakers to prioritize the creation of a conducive environment that will unlock the potential of the continent’s youth, to enable them to contribute effectively to development,” said President Kenyatta, the Chairperson of the Summit of EAC) Heads of State.