Africa Regional Forum on Advancing TVET for Youth Employability and Sustainable Development

17-18 September 2013, Abuja, Nigeria

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre in collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education, Centre of Excellence in TVET (NBTE), organized a Regional Forum on Advancing TVET for Youth Employability and Sustainable Development from 17 to 18 September 2013 in Abuja, Nigeria. The meeting was organized in the context of a series of forums that UNESCO-UNEVOC is organizing as a response to the Shanghai Consensus recommendations and the outcomes of the UNEVOC International Forum (November 2012). The two-day forum aimed at sharing and discussing Promising Practices in the areas of Greening TVET (GTVET) and Youth and Skills implemented by UNEVOC Centres and other institutions in the region, as well as strengthening cooperation between UNEVOC Centres in Africa and supporting the consolidation and expansion of the Network.

Following opening remarks from the Hon. State Minister of Education (Nigeria) Chief N.E. Wike, panel discussions focused on sharing regional trends on youth workforce development and employment related to skill acquisition, as well as sharing national initiatives on Greening TVET. In this context, eleven Promising Practices were presented. Ms Dagmar Winzier, Programme Expert at UNESCO-UNEVOC, presented on the advancing Greening TVET (GTVET) agenda - issues and challenges.

Other sessions featured presentations and discussions on interagency perspectives and the role of regional organizations and development agencies in shaping global policies on youth and skills as well as Greening TVET. The forum also included a session that highlighted the unique insights and practical experience of the UNEVOC regional coordinators from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The forum was attended by approximately 150 participants from 15 countries namely: Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, France, Germany, Jamaica, Malawi, Mauritius, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Switzerland, Uganda, and included representatives from 13 UNEVOC Centres, UNESCO, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Commonwealth of Learning (CoL), African Development Bank (AFDB), International Labour Organization (ILO), German Chamber of Commerce, and Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) as well as the private sector.