Abdou, one of the 100 Youth Fellows ILC is sponsoring to the Global Land Forum Youth next month, is this week hosting ILC’s Instagram takeover to call for more voice to the youth on land governance
It is well-documented that there is a challenging “employment gap” among the youth in Africa, meaning: young Africans are affected by the slow growth in jobs. The pressure to provide decent work opportunities for new labour market entrants is particularly acute.
Africa is the youngest and fastest-growing continent in the world. By 2030, there will be 375 million young people in the job market in Africa. Within a few decades, this demographic boom will push Africa’s workforce to more than a billion people, the largest in the world.
Abdou sees a chance for jobs driven by land use.
“I think we need to create jobs related to land use,” said Abdou, land governance lead at Autopromotion rural pour un developpement durable (ADHD), a local CSO working on land tenure rights and gender justice issues in Togo.
“Getting young people interested in land use as white-collar jobs go downhill; addressing the myth that only the poor work the land and that only the elderly can better manage a family’s land holdings.”
Amongst the many pieces of legislation and initiatives emerging from across the continent, the Togolese Land Code is leading the way. Unanimously passed on June 5, 2018, the new Code sets the foundation for a more progressive institutional land management framework in Togo.
Abdou will like to share that progress when he meets ILC leaders at the Global Land Forum Youth in Jordan.
He explains:
"I will like to share my experience in land governance in my country, which is in perfect progress with the new land law that has taken into account the gender aspect and that also puts people, especially vulnerable populations, at the centre of decisions.”
Abdou is currently testing the provisions of this land law relating to the rural environment, thanks to ILC’s Youth Fellowship Program.
He’s hoping that the Global Land Forum Youth will provide a platform to learn from other young people from different parts of the world.
“I look forward to improving my land governance and reporting capacity by interacting with other youth.”