14 June 2021, Cairo, Egypt – In light of the APRM’s continental secretariat eagerness to enhance awareness and knowledge of African executives, particularly youth and females, of Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the APRM took part in the ‘’Nasser fellowship program’’ and the ‘’Be an Ambassador for SDGs’’ initiative organized during this month in Cairo. Ms. Sara Hamouda- Agenda 2063 Unit, officer in charge represented the continental secretariat.
Under the auspices of H.E President of Arab Republic of Egypt, Abel-Fattah El-Sisi, the 2nd cohort of the Nasser Fellowship for International Leadership (NFIL) was organized from June 1st-16th in Cairo and brought over 60 participants from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The 2021 theme of the fellowship focused on ‘’South-South cooperation’’ and solidarity notion amongst youth from the global south. Amongst various cultural and official visits in the Egyptian governorates, the fellowship included different lectures on global and African issues including Agenda 2063 ‘’Africa We want’’. The Fellowship is also one of the implementation mechanisms Egypt Vision 2030, 10 principles of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organization, African Union Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth and African Youth Charter.
The APRM representative provided an interactive lecture on the role of APRM in monitoring and evaluation Agenda 2063 alongside delivering on its core mandate to promote good governance assessment and peer-learning among African countries. She explained that APRM prioritizes focus on some goals i.e., SDG 16 (Strong institutions and peaceful societies), 17 (Partnerships including South-South and triangular cooperation for accelerating the implementation of SDGs/Agenda 2063 and 5 (Gender equality) to align with and enhance coherence among AU organs for implementing Agenda 2063. Participants from Chad, Uganda, Cameron, Tunisia, Kenya and South Africa also commented on the role of APRM and expressed appreciation for publicizing its activities and collaboration with Asian and Latin America countries among youth and young experts on development and governance issues.
On another hand, ‘’Be an Ambassador for SDGs’’ is a new initiative launched by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the National Centre for Governance and Sustainable Development (NCGSD) to support the government’s efforts in incorporating sustainable development education amongst Egyptian youth. The initiative aims to train up to 500 youth in 2021 (on different patches) from the various governorates of Egypt. it aims mainly to spread the culture of sustainable development and to qualify young people to apply the foundations of sustainable development in various product and service activities and areas (Training of Trainers-ToT). Ms. Hamouda also delivered two lectures on Agenda 2063 aspirations, goals, inter-linkages with SDGs, and implementation challenges for the first and second patch of participants–roughly 90 participants.
On behalf of the centre, Dr. Sherifa Sherif, Executive Director of NCGSD, expressed her appreciation to the APRM CEO, prof. Eddy Maloka in support of national initiatives on SDGs and Agenda 2063 since it helps to raise the participants’ awareness on the African Union and its continental vision for integration.
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