Call for African Youth Charter Hustlers

What is this Initiative?

As mandated by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission H.E, Moussa Faki, the African Union Youth Envoy published 2019/20 Action Plan. The Action Plan, under the Advocacy Model, seeks to mobilize the African Youth Charter (AYC) Hustlers, to lead continental, regional and national advocacy for the ratification and implementation of the Charter as well as the institution of effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms.

This is in line with the AUC’s 1 Million by 2021 Initiative, which seeks to provide opportunities for African youth in the game-changing areas of employment, education, entrepreneurship and engagement (4Es). Under the engagement pillar, the initiative seeks to create meaningful platforms for youth to drive change in their environments. The AYC Hustlers initiative provides an opportunity for youth-led advocacy and youth-led accountability, and ensures results on continental commitments to their development.

The flagship initiative is spear-headed by the African Union Office of the Youth Envoy (OYE), with the support of Youth Division of the AUC Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), and in collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), seeking to engage young Africans as African Youth Charter Hustlers. The AYC Hustlers initiative will engage two mobilizers per country, one male and one female for a period of two years.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to advocating for the contribution and central role of young people to reform our institutions and transform our systems to work for our generation. Article 17 of the African Youth Charter (AYC) on Health, guarantees the right of African youth to enjoy the best attainable state of physical, mental and spiritual health and the institution of programmes to address health pandemics in Africa.

Why is this Initiative?

Cognizant of Africa’s burgeoning youth population, with over 75% of the continent’s population under the age of 35, the African Union (AU) has since prioritized the empowerment of young people as central to achieving the vision of Agenda 2063. The African Youth Charter, adopted in 2006, is a rights-based framework which guides the engagement and empowerment of youth in Africa, enshrines their rights, duties and freedoms and has spawned the action plans which have guided continental programming, most recently the African Plan of Action on Youth Empowerment (APAYE 2019-2023).

Article 28 of the Charter mandates the African Union Commission (AUC) to collaborate with governments, non-governmental institutions, and developmental partners to identify best practices on youth policy formulation and implementation and encourage the adaptation principles and experiences sharing.

In a similar vein, Article 26(a) calls for young people to be custodians of their own development. The AUC’s youth engagement strategy is centered on youth ownership of their outcomes, youth-led accountability, and building the capacity of young Africans to undertake these responsibilities.

Who Can Apply?

• Be national of the 55-member states of the African Union
• Be aged 18-33 years old (as of 21 April 2020)
• Have demonstrated advocacy results and impact in their work
• Be committed to volunteer for two years to hustle for the Charter

What is the African Youth Charter (AYC) Hustlers Mission?

• Advocate for Action
• Actively advocate for the ratification of the African Youth Charter (AYC) by the 16 AU Member States who are yet to sign and/or ratify;
• Actively Advocate for the implementation by Member states of the African Plan of Action on Youth Empowerment (APAYE);
• Actively advocate for the implementation of the Charter in their countries, including the establishment of effective National Youth Councils (NYCs) where they are absent, the reaffirmation and strengthening of NYCs where they exist, and the establishment of progressive national youth policies and youth funds;

Promote Africa’s Model

• Document the best practices of AU Member States, and encourage sharing, replication and scaling up of these practices on youth inclusion and leadership informed by, and building on, the Status of African Youth Report;
• Promote policy formulation to increase youth involvement and participation in decision-making processes at all levels- political, social and economic spheres;
• Promote Pan-Africanism, Agenda 2063, African solidarity and intergenerational co-leadership

Hustle for Accountability

• Engage the AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Youth, Culture and Sports and advocate for the development of a continental monitoring framework on the implementation of the AYC and the African Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment 2019-2023 (APAYE)
• Support the effective monitoring of the implementation of the AYC and the APAYE;
• Support the collection of data, as well as other accountability matrices for the Status of the African Youth Report and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

2020 TIMELINE

• 25 March -20 April 2020: Open Call for African Youth Charter Hustlers
• 20- 30 April 2020: A high-level Selection Committee composed of representatives from STC on Youth, Culture and Sports, civil society, Regional Economic Communities, APRM, AUC departments and AU Youth Advisory Council.
• May 2020: Announcement of AYC Hustlers
• June 2020: Training of AYC Hustlers in the regions
• July 2020 - AYC Hustlers Representatives from each region briefing the STC on Youth, Culture and Sports of their advocacy efforts
• November 2020 - AYC Hustlers conducting activities in their countries during Africa Youth Day and throughout Africa Youth Month

How to Apply? Click here to apply https://auyouthenvoy.org/aych/ Deadline: 20 April 2020 For further information Contact: neil@auyouthenvoy.org and Chebbia@africa-union.org  

About the AU Office of the Youth Envoy (OYE)

In November 2018, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission appointed Ms. Aya Chebbi as the Special Envoy on Youth with the mandate to serve as a representative of and advocate for the voices and interests of African youth to the relevant AU decision-making bodies; advocating for the implementation of the African Youth Charter and Agenda 2063. The AU Youth Envoy embodies the space for African youth to engage with and influence the work of the AUC and its affiliate organs.

The AU Office of the Youth Envoy is a Pan-African collaborative movement with a committed AU Youth Advisory Council supporting the office mandate and spearheading regional engagement. As mandated by the chairperson, the AU Youth Envoy launched the 2019/2020 Action Plan.

The OYE supports the work of the African Union, Department Human Resources, Science and Technology Department (Youth Division) on youth mainstreaming and advocacy for the implementation of progressive policies and impactful actions that promote youth participation, engagement and leadership towards the realisation of real transformation for youth development.