AVD 41: Youth Dialogue on Education, Health and Business

Held on the 16 June 2026, this dialogue gathered insights from participants in 22 countries across and beyond Africa. Through engagement in deep and generative dialogue, they offered a layered picture of the realities facing African youth across health, education, and economic life, as experienced and articulated by young people, educators, practitioners, and community leaders from across the continent. While conscious of the challenges faced by youth in Africa, the dialogue was clear in highlighting the increasing recognition of the brilliance of the young African mind. It acknowledged that there are many initiatives focused on activating and unlocking this - and sought to better understand how these efforts could become increasingly co-ordinated and ecosystemic, unlocking the tremendous potential that is present. The themes most prevalent, and which are shared in this recording, are that: Mental health has become a defining crisis for African youth Education systems are not fit for purpose for young Africans Unemployment is the root malaise beneath multiple crises Youth participation remains symbolic rather than substantive Entrepreneurship offers real opportunity - with the right ecosystem Digital skills and AI literacy are urgent and unequal - but hold tremendous potential for the continent. Mentorship and intergenerational relationship are foundational for activating potential Africa must define its own path, rooted in its own values The dialogue highlighted that issues are deeply interconnected - and that there is both awareness and effort being made to address them. Mental health, education, unemployment, and youth exclusion from decision-making are not separate problems. They form an interlocking system. A young person excluded from quality education is more likely to be unemployed; unemployment drives mental health deterioration; deteriorating mental health reduces the capacity to participate, advocate, or build. Geographic diversity masks shared experience Respondents from across the continent described remarkably similar experiences despite vastly different political, cultural, and economic contexts. The underlying pattern of young people feeling unseen, underprepared, and undervalued is consistent. Solutions already exist, at small scale Respondents described initiatives and programs that are working: social and financial education curricula in schools; climate-smart agriculture enterprises created by young people; university employability centres; youth-led mental health advocacy; digital skills training programs; and community-based education. The challenge is not that solutions are unknown. They are fragmented, underfunded, and disconnected from policy. Intergenerational dialogue is itself a form of action. AVD's Dialogues model something important: when older and younger generations are invited into genuine conversation, not as experts and recipients but as co-contributors, the quality of insight changes. Seeing those with more experience as human, appeals to older professionals to bring younger people with them, and observations that all humans share the experience of emotion are not just hopeful sentiments. They are evidence of what becomes possible when the conditions for real dialogue are created.