On the 13th-15th December 2009 UNDP Libya collaborated with the African Union Commission, the National Organisation of Libyan Youth (NOLY), World Bank and the International Labour Organisation to organise a workshop aimed at mobilising the African diaspora to promote youth employment opportunities in Africa.

The workshop brought together a broad coalition of African youth groups, civil society organisations, trade union leaders, the private sector, employer associations, academia, African diaspora groups and international organisations.

Through open discussions and presentations the gathered stakeholders shared their experiences and perspectives on the social, economic and political dimensions of youth unemployment, and exchanged best practices. UNDP Libya delivered a presentation on its experience of generating youth employment in Ghadames, a small oasis town in the south-west of the country.

Amongst the recommendations that emerged from the 3-day event was an agreement on the fundamental premise that youth unemployment is one of the most critical problems confronting the African continent. Whilst young people make up 37% of the working age population, around 60% of Africa’s youth are unemployed. A lack of action on this issue will escalate both the economic and the social costs of development.

One proposed action recommended by the workshop is the establishment of a Global Marketplace for Africa Diaspora Action. Under this scheme, active and effective African diaspora groups could be selected for small grants to carry out projects that target problems associated with youth unemployment.

“This is a good way to use the development market place to get the best ideas emerging from the African diaspora” explained Richard Cambridge, heading the World Bank mission at the workshop. “The great thing we’ve found is that small amounts really make a difference. When we were using this policy in Europe, we found that giving out small grants of around 50,000 euros really worked.”

A second recommendation concerned the creation of an African Network for Youth Employment, which would be established under the African Union and would seek to ensure the effective participation of youths as stakeholders.

UNDP Libya has already been working in the sphere of youth unemployment, supporting projects that aim at improving vocational training, and modernising school curricula to fit with labour market needs. It is also currently formulating a project document on the development of a National Strategy for Youth with NOLY.

UNDP Libya used the workshop to reaffirm its support to regional initiatives aimed at combating youth unemployment, and to express its willingness to extend its network of partnerships and mobilise its global expertise in support of this goal.