Announcements
We, the representatives of Women and Youth organizations and networks working on women and youth development issues, gathered on the 20 – 21 May prior to the Ministerial Meeting and the Global African Summit of Heads of State and Government, at a Women and Youth Global African Diaspora Dialogue, in Pretoria, South Africa from 20 to 21 May 2012.
OBSERVE that the issues with the African women and youth are very similar to those with the youth and women of the Diaspora;
ACKNOWLEDGE the roles, which have been played by the generations before us;
RECOGNIZE the need to be open to new ideas and ingenuity, which will accommodate the new generation and their developments;
AFFIRMING the need for the Pan-African Women’s Organization and the Pan-African Youth Union to establish Diaspora Chapters that will be a part of their Executive Committees;
EXPRESS the desire for an all-inclusive youth gathering as well as those for women that will support dialogue and expanded networking and program development for the Diaspora and the Youth and Women on the African Continent;
RECOGNIZE the Pan-African Women’s Organization and the Pan-African Youth Union as the spear-headers to mobilize the African youth and women, and now charge them to include and co-labor with the Diaspora;
EXPRESS the desire for direct implementation and accountability for all Diaspora initiatives;
AFFIRMING the need for a Pan- African Education curriculum and initiative to validate the African Image and develop solidarity amongst the Continental Africans and those in the Diaspora;
COGNIZANT that African centered education cannot be limited to that of the primary stages but should embrace the promotion of African Universities and their programs which must be free, democratic, compulsory, and qualitative;
EXPRESS the extreme desire for revitalizing real African education which will include the history of Africa as told from the voice of Africa and not from their imposed imperialists;
COGNIZANT of the necessity to advocate for the inclusion of African education and knowledge that will be presented from the voice of the Diaspora which, will pave the way for the synergy of Continental and Diaspora Africans from the perspective of total Pan-African knowledge and historical dialogue;
ENDORSES positive education systems where there is no discrimination based upon economic status or gender;
SUPPORT the development and exchange of talents amongst the creative industries in Africa and her Diaspora;
RECOGNIZES the deficiency of African youth and women to acknowledge themselves as positive members of society;
ENDORSE the development of the Cultural Ambassador Initiative that will mobilize prominent personalities amongst the Diaspora communities to represent the positive image of Africa and to be the voice of the African Service Initiative;
BEARING IN MIND that a key role of the youth will be too assist the African Union and their initiatives by offering creative marketing strategies, developing IT infrastructures, and expanding possibilities of global mobilization of people of African Descent;
SPEAKS with one voice to the matter that Africa’s natural resources should be processed, beneficiated, and developed in the African continent and with only the inclusion of the African Diaspora;
CONVINCED that the mines, banks, and key strategic sectors for economic development should be nationalized as part of economic freedom within our lifetime;
BEARING in mind those resources should no longer be acquired from outside nations but, should be pulled directly from the supporting Diaspora for the growth and development of Africa’s natural resources;
RECOGNIZES the demand that the people of African Descent be granted Dual-Citizenship in order for them to be fully active within the African Continent;
EXPRESSING the necessity for a fully integrated Africa which, no longer needs Visas to travel from one country to the other within the continent;
UNDERSTANDS that an integrated Africa will allow for and integrated African Women and Youth together with the Diaspora;
EXPRESSES the need for economic integration in the areas of communication, transport, trade, and information technology channels (IT) that will allow for the growth of the African continental infrastructure where we realize the dream of ‘Cape to Cairo’;
PROMOTES the development of youth, women, and elderly exchange projects that will allow for positive sharing of their individual knowledge bases and promote the maintenance of indigenous knowledge systems;
ACKNOWLEDGE implementation of the Legacy Projects but, recognize that in order for the projects to be effective for youth and women’s participation, the framework should be expanded by including the listed implantations;
The African Diaspora Legacy Projects:
Contributions of the Women’s and Youth Summit Commissions
I. Database of Professional Skills in the African Diaspora
a. Having considered the need for a properly run, all inconclusive, identification of capacity, linkage and bonding between Africa and the Diaspora, the database should not be limited to professionals only but also include the listing of skills.
b. Should include marketing, exchange programs, health, education, identification of jobs, and public relations and media outlets.
c. Should be used as an empowering factor where training in IT is concerned, especially at the grass roots level.
d. Will develop different mechanisms for resource mobilization.
II. The development Marketplace and Youth Development Project
a. Full implementation of African Youth Charter and the Program of Action by all AU member states and the Diaspora regions.
b. Promote African Trade continentally and amongst the Diaspora
c. Promote increased Tourism and protection of the environment.
d. Exchange programs, training, and marketing
e. Need for proper organization, administration, and solidarity as we take Africa to the Diaspora and bring the Diaspora home to the Continent.
III. Volunteer Corps
a. The Pan-African Women’s Organization and the Pan-African Youth Union should be used to lobby and advocate for the implementation by the African Union and all the stakeholders.
b. African Service Initiative
i. Should facilitate career training and mentorship through the access of internships, mentorships, and skills development programs on the continent as well as in the Diaspora regions.
ii. Encourage a network of young African professionals to share resources and develop projects that will activate positive economic growth in the continent as well as in the global marketplace.
iii. Develop the Cultural Ambassador Initiative that will mobilize prominent personalities amongst the Diaspora communities to represent the positive image of Africa and to be the voice of the African Service Initiative.
IV. African Diaspora Investment Fund
a. Should be entitled “African People’s Development Fund” to be an all inclusive resource for the development of African people and the Diaspora.
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