December 9, 2024 (ENTEBBE, Uganda): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) through its Land Governance Unit, in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development of the Republic of Uganda are meeting with the IGAD Land Governance Youth Steering Committee members to strengthen knowledge management capacity on land programing with the objective to enhance the engagement of youth in land governance issues at local, national, and regional levels in line with IGAD’s commitment to inclusivity, participatory governance and the empowerment of young people in land and resource management in the region.
The meeting is aiming at establishing a comprehensive database of youth-led and youth-focused organisations involved in land governance across the IGAD region as well as discuss ways through which to develop and implement a digital media campaign strategy to raise awareness and promote youth engagement in land issues.
Considering that young people are at the very heart of Africa’s development agenda, they are Africa’s biggest resources due to their growing numbers thus offering enormous potential demanding their active representation and participation in land matters at all levels using their energies and innovations to champion and address social, economic, and environmental challenges tied to land resources in the IGAD region through land utilisation and governance for economic development.
Despite the growing recognition of the youth numbers; their contributions, innovations, limited data, few job opportunities and minimal visibility, limited access to land and finances to develop land have in minimal participation and influence in land governance policies hindering the impact of their initiatives and innovations thus the urgency to build a robust knowledge management system that will focus on youth and land.
During the opening, Mr. Sam Ogwal, the IGAD Youth Envoy, emphasized the importance of involving youth in land governance systems. He highlighted that despite their significant numbers, many young people in the region have shifted their focus to other sectors due to limited access to productive resources such as land thus resulting into minimal participation and influence in land governance policies.
Mr. Ogwal stressed the necessity of engaging youth in land-related activities such as agriculture to ensure the sustainability of land utilization, reforms, policies and systems. He warned that failing to do so could jeopardize food security, land ownership by indigenous populations, and the well-being of IGAD citizens.
The meeting was officiated by Ms. Naome Kabanda, Director – Land Management at Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development appreciated the cross regional attendance and commended them for their commitment towards empowering the youth and strengthening land governance within the IGAD region.
“In response to the prevailing challenges, the Government of Uganda has taken deliberate steps to empower the youth through targeted interventions such as; the Emyooga Fund an initiative that supports organized youth groups with seed capital to enable them to engage in income-generating activities; and the Parish Development Model (PDM) that focuses on improving household incomes and emphasizes the involvement of youth in agricultural productivity and other value-chain opportunities, providing them with the tools and resources needed to engage meaningfully in land use and governance and many other interventions in order to address systemic barriers, create opportunities for youth, and ensure their participation in shaping a sustainable future” Ms. Kabanda added.
Ms. Kabanda urged the youth to create a future where youth are not just beneficiaries but be active leaders in land governance sharing experiences, practical ideas and plans, and innovative solutions stating that their voices, expertise and high use of technology and digital products are critical in engaging and shaping the future of the digital era of land governance in the region by championing initiatives that will empower the youth and integrate their contributions into land policy and governance frameworks.
Recognizing the importance of youth engagement in land governance, IGAD has prioritized strengthening knowledge management on youth and land programming. This initiative aims to harness digital platforms to amplify youth voices, showcase their roles in addressing land issues, and foster knowledge-sharing among youth-led organisations across the IGAD member states. Through the knowledge management system IGAD will be able to;
- Increase awareness of youth-led solutions and advocacy on land governance through targeted digital media engagement
- Facilitate cross-regional learning and networking among youth working on land-related issues
- Provide a centralized platform for policies, research, and resources that can support youth in informed decision-making and advocacy and promote the work of youth-led organisations and enhance their access to resources and partnerships to raise awareness and promote youth engagement in land issues as well as to create an online repository of policies, laws, frameworks and knowledge products related to youth and land programing.
These initiatives will engage various stakeholders and partners, that will include and not limited to; IGAD Youth Steering Committee to design, implement the digital media campaign and lead the campaign strategy and database creation; Ministries of Land in the Member States to provide input and collaboration on mapping youth-led organisations.
Background:
- According to the UNEPI, African Union and Mo Foundation 60% of Africa’s population in 2019 is under the age of 25, making Africa the world’s youngest continent. In the IGAD region, except for Djibouti, the proportion of the population aged less than 25 years is more than 48 percent and peaks at 67 percent in Somalia and Uganda Sources: org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2023-05/undp-africa-youth-in-africa-2023-EN.pdf, Africa Youth Month 2019 | African Union, and https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/fact-sheets/YouthPOP.pdf).
“Africa has the youngest population in the world with more than 400 million young people aged between the ages of 15 to 35 years. Such a youthful population calls for an increase of investment in economic and social development factors, in order to improve the development index of African nations” Source: Youth Development | African Union
“Almost 16 million young Africans, around 13.4% of the total labour force of 15–24-year-olds, are facing unemployment. The 2019 Ibrahim Forum Report shows that for non-working youth, unemployment is the consequence of a lack of jobs and opportunities” Source: Africa’s first challenge: the youth bulge stuck in ‘waithood’ | Mo Ibrahim Foundation
- In the IGAD region, land is a vital asset tied to economic opportunities, social identity, and environmental sustainability. Recognising the importance of youth engagement in land governance, IGAD has prioritised strengthening knowledge management on youth and land programming. This initiative aims to harness digital platforms to amplify youth voices, showcase their roles in addressing land issues, and foster knowledge-sharing among youth-led organisations across the IGAD Member States.
- Regardless of the youth recognition as a cross-cutting social group and their potential, they have to date received little attention either as active stakeholders or beneficiaries in land governance-related initiatives. According to the UN Youth-Global Plan for Sustainable Development, 2016-2020, youth in most places represent a disproportionate number of the unemployed and their contributions to development processes are thus limited. Source: Youth empowerment | United Nations Development Programme
