Africa Working Group: Virtual Panel Discussion
Africa Governance Innovation Lab Collaboration
The Africa Working Group provides a forum for resident faculty, graduate students, and outside scholars to present and discuss cutting edge research on Africa. Participants, who come from a range of disciplines, share a common interest in investigating Africa’s past, present, and future, as well as Africa’s place in the larger global order. The group also sponsors Africanist events, enriching the study of Africa on campus and building on growing student interest in the region.
Cochairs: Paul Ocobock and Ellis Adams
Graduate Assistants: Adedoyin Okanlawon, Will O'Brien and Debora Rogo
Youth "Bulge": Opportunity or Time Bomb for African Democracy and Human Development
Panelists:
E. Gyimah-Boadi, Senior Advisor, Emeritus Board Chair, and CEO Afrobarometer
Abraham Rugo Muriu, Executive Director, Bajeti Hub
Katindi Sivi, Futures Researcher, Policy Analyst, and Trainer
Emmanuel Matambo, Research Director, Centre for Africa-China Studies (CACS)
Responding to the urgent and emerging discourse on the “youth bulge” in Africa, the Africa Working Group (AWG) at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies has partnered with the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame to host a virtual panel, “Youth ‘Bulge’: Opportunity or Time Bomb for African Democracy and Human Development?”.
The panel is organized by AWG in response to the current demographic transformation occurring in Africa, which is unlike any other region in the world. As a majority of the African population are aged between 15 and 35, the continent is home to the youngest population globally—and it is still growing. By 2050, Africa’s youth will make up more than one-third of the world’s young people. This “youth bulge” presents both extraordinary opportunities and urgent challenges for governments, businesses, educators, and development partners.
The discussion will bring together leading African scholars, policymakers, and innovators to address critical questions: How can African countries turn their demographic boom into a dividend? What policies are needed to create sustainable jobs, expand access to quality education, and foster entrepreneurship? And how might this youthful population reshape Africa’s political, cultural, and economic role on the global stage?
The panel, which will be moderated by Kroc PhD Student (History and Peace Studies) and Kellogg Doctoral Fellow, Debora Rogo, includes Dr. E. Gyimah-Boadi, the Co-Founder, Senior Advisor; Emeritus Board Chair and CEO of Afrobarometer; Dr. Abraham Rugo Muriu, the Executive Director of Bajeti Hub, Dr. Katindi Sivi, Afro-futures researcher, policy analyst & trainer, and Dr. Emmanuel Matambo, Research Director at the Centre for Africa-China Studies (CACS) at the University of Johannesburg.