Young people worldwide have taken action to prevent the spread of the virus and mitigate its impact.
This was the focus of my IYD Twitter Chat on how youth innovations have led to global action against COVID-19, in collaboration with FAWE and GIMAC.
These initiatives highlight the need for immediate and significant action to mitigate the long-term educational effects of this crisis.
Young people will ultimately lead countries in the COVID-19 recovery. But every day a child or young person is out of school, without the opportunity to learn, further diminishes their lifelong earning potential and future quality of life. We must start investing in young people today.
Tackling the crisis with young people as strategic partners
Young people between the ages of 14 and 24 make up one-fifth of Africa’s population, with numbers projected to increase over the next three decades. Africa’s young people are therefore the most important source of human capital for the continent and constitute its engine of growth.
To successfully respond to this crisis and “build back better” for the long term, African leaders must strategically partner with youth to leverage their innovation, creative ideas, labor and resourcefulness.
The most important way that African leaders can purposefully engage with young people is by investing in quality foundational education. To do this, the pedagogy of education in Africa must change.