Engaging Africa's youth is a G20 priority

As South Africa prepares to host the G20 Summit for the first time, one of the top concerns is South Africa's youth, a precarious cohort of the population that, with limited opportunities to strengthen their education and skills development, faces a future of unemployment and hopelessness.

- By Helen Grange

In a virtual information session titled 'Africa in the G20: Advancing Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability', convened by Good Governance Africa (GGA) and moderated by GGA's CEO Lonwabo Patrick Kulati on 24 July, thought leaders stressed that the power of Africa's youth will only emerge through unity, industrialisation, and self-determined agency - not symbolic inclusion.

Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue and Associate Researcher based with the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, said this requires significant structural investment in education, skills development, and economic inclusion.