President Paul Kagame addressing the youth at the Youth Connekt summit in 2018
The Ministry of Youth and Culture in collaboration with organising partners has scheduled the 5th edition of the YouthConnekt Africa Summit to October 13-15 October 2022 in BK Arene, Kigali, Rwanda.
The summit under the theme “Accelerating Investments in Youth: Resilient Youth, Resilient Africa”, is expected to attract over 10,000 participants from Africa and the rest of the World.
Topics to be discussed include; the youth contribution to climate action and sustainable peace and security; cultural, creative Industry, sports, economy, skilling for digital economy, agriculture and food systems, trade and youth health among others.
Oulie Keita, the Executive Director at YouthConnekt Africa Hub, said they are thrilled to be coming back to Kigali to host the 5th Edition of the continental and powerful platform for Youth and Leaders across Africa.
“Africa’s youths are innovators and champions of Climate Resilience, Peace and Security, Africa’s Cultural and Creative Industry, Manufacturing, Trade, and Agriculture and Food Systems. We look forward to drawing on the knowledge and good practices of YouthConnekt Member Chapters and Partners,” she said.
While announcing this year’s summit, the Minister of Youth and Culture, Rosemary Mbabazi noted that the Government of Rwanda recognizes the central and transformative role the youth can play in economic recovery.
“Our youth is not only a major contributor to the economic workforce but also a source of innovative solutions as the world becomes more connected. The YouthConnekt Africa Summit provides a platform where youth can meet with their African peers, exchange knowledge, and foster new ways of collaboration,” she noted.
“We look forward to YouthConnekt Africa Summit 2022 when the world seeks solutions to recover from the global crisis that has affected us over the past three years,” the Minister added.
Through different sessions, debates, youth labs, exhibitions, training sessions, exchange, and networking lounges and pop-up events among other things, young people will have multiple occasions to network and directly exchange with governments and business leaders as well as representatives of international organizations, and present their solutions to Africa’s challenges.
YouthConnekt Africa is a continental initiative that aims to empower young people by enhancing their knowledge, experiences, and skills while investing in their ideas, innovations, and initiatives to harness Africa’s demographic dividend.
The YouthConnekt Africa is a fast-growing continental platform with a presence in 28 countries. To support knowledge development, a collaboration of member states, and coordination of a global network for the African ecosystem – the YouthConnekt Africa Hub, based in Kigali, Rwanda, was operationalized in 2020.
