2018 Youth Day:   AYSDGs Summit urges African governments to broaden digital space for youth

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As the world marks the 2018 International Youth Day, the secretariat of the African Youth SDGs Summit has called upon African governments to broaden the digital space by making it ‘accessible and affordable’ for young people on the continent and congratulated young people from across Africa for their continued interest in creating safe spaces for themselves.

“As we mark this special day, the Secretariat and partners for the African Youth SDGs Summit call upon African governments to; broaden the digital space by making it accessible and affordable for young people, especially girls and young women, everywhere in Africa,” said a press statement by the AYSDGs Summit released Sunday in Accra, Ghana.

The statement also commended African youths for “demanding a policy shift that will support their potentials at all levels towards delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa We Want – Agenda2063.”

In 1999, the UN General Assembly had designated 12th of August as International Youth Day, as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in driving sustainable development across the world. This year’s theme is “Safe Spaces for Youth”.

““Safe Spaces for Youth” as the 2018 theme for International Youth Day is appropriate and timely. Safe spaces such as digital spaces help youth interact virtually across borders with everyone.  Digital technologies and the spaces they provide can deliver economic opportunities by providing young people with training opportunities and job-matching services, and by creating new kinds of work,” adds the statement.

The AYSDGs Summit Secretariat also called upon African governments to support innovations by young people around improving the digital space and refrain from unnecessary laws restricting access to information towards improving youth participation in governance process.