World Africa Day 2022

African Youth for the Future: The Importance of Just Transition and Digitalization

ILO Office for the United Nations partnered with AMAKA Studios to discuss the importance of just transition and the need to uplift African youth within the future of work. ILO consultant Ms. Herrana Addisu sat down with Special Representative to the UN and Director of the ILO Office for the United Nations, Ms. Beate Andrees to discuss the Secretary-General’s brief on Investing in Jobs and Social Protection for Poverty Eradication and a Sustainable Recovery, the role of digitalization, skills training, and just transition as it related to the green economy for African youth.

News | 25 May 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a threat to humanity and the socio-economic development of the world. Many people are still facing economic instability and lack of access to education while the growing gap of digitalization amongst developed and developing countries continues to grow Amongst the threat of COVID-19, climate change is rapidly speeding up as more countries are facing food insecurity and natural disasters.

The “Impacts on jobs, education, rights, and mental well-being ILO report highlights the ways young people were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Young women and youth in lower-income countries are particularly at a disadvantage. Low-income economies and regions that already had limited access to technologies before the COVID-19 pandemic have been struggling even more to provide proper education resources and skills training for youth. In the context of just transition, there is a threat that youth from lower-income economies will be left behind due to the lack of digitalization, heavily impacting African Youth. For countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030, mechanisms need to be scaled up to merge the future of work and climate change while having meaningful youth engagement and participation to ensure the world is on the road towards inclusive recovery.

For full interview, please click here