ACCORD hosted a webinar on the 14th of May 2020, to address the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on Africa’s young people as part of ACCORD’s strategy to further understand the impact and actions taken by young people in mitigating the repercussions of the pandemic. The webinar is the second in a series of online dialogues that ACCORD will host in relation to monitoring, tracking and analysing COVID-19 related social-unrest and violent conflict in Africa.
The session was moderated by Sibusisiwe Nkosi: Programme Officer, ACCORD and Mr Arhicbald Frimpongo. Archibald: Office of the President Ghana, Technical Officer in the Chief of Staff Secretariat and included a dynamic panel of young leaders from across the Continent:
- Eunice Eleanor Klinogo, Africa and Europe Representative, Commonwealth Youth Council
- Andtoungou Claude Marie Terence, Country Coordinator, Obama Leaders Service – Gabon
- Victor Ochen, Founder and Executive Director, African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET)
- Ansumana B. Bojang, Secretary for Press and Information, All Africa Students Union (AASU)
The webinar provided an agency to youth voices to reflect, and share with others, their experiences on the impact of COVID-19 on their daily lives, as well as their communities. Members of the panel and participants presented on their lived experiences and also explored strategies to prevent, mitigate and resolve conflict. The discussions further reiterated the analysis from ACCORD’s COVID-19 Conflict & Resilience Analysis, which assessed the impact of COVID-19 on young people.
The analysis highlights that COVID-19 will affect the future of African youth. The spread of the virus, and measures taken to contain it, will exacerbate an already fragile situation., leading to unprecedented social, political, and economic challenges that will increase poverty, unemployment and inequality, impacting young people disproportionately. African youth have already had to adapt to violent conflicts, political instability, humanitarian emergencies, displacement and limited access to education, healthcare and work opportunities. The analysis indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed young people’s family and social lives, daily routines and income. However, in spite of the obvious challenges, there are also many examples of the resilience by young people contributing significantly within their communities.
For more information on ACCORD’s youth related activities and future dialogue, please reach out to ACCORDs Programme Officer, Ms Sibusisiwe Nkosi at: sibusisiwe@accord.org.za.
Follow this link to access the video recording of the webinar.
