TICAD7 Youth Policy Proposal
Date:27.8.2019

Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability

TICAD7 Youth Policy Proposal
27.8.2019 Yokohama
Preface
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was first launched in
1993 in Tokyo, Japan with the aim to promote Africa’s development through strengthening
strong cooperation and partnership. TICAD7 will be held in August with the theme “Africa andYokohama, Sharing Passion for Future” with the following 3 pillars:
1) Economic structural change and improvement of business environment throughinnovation and involvement of the private sector
2) Building a resilient and strong society3) Establishing peace and stability (stimulating Africa to take their own initiatives)
Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability (JYPS) held 2 forums ahead of the TICAD7 conference
to be held in August 28-30th 2019. On August 12th, 2019, the “TICAD7 Youth SummitTogether with Youth from Africa and Japan” was held in Tokyo, Japan. On August 27th,“Involvement of Youth and partnership- Establishing SDGs and Agenda 2063” was held as anofficial side event during the TICAD7 conference. The Youth Policy Proposal was createdthrough gathering the voices of around 200 African and Japanese individuals though theseforums and online platforms. Youth under the age of 30 make up the majority of Africa’s age
pyramid. Therefore it is essential to consider the sustainable development of Africa along withthe voices of Youth, and reflecting them into governmental policies. Youth should be regarded
as a valuable stakeholder who will bear the future, whose voices should be taken into account in
the decision making process. Therefore, the establishment of such processes that allows forvoices of youth from Japan and Africa to be reflected in such policies.
The following Youth Declaration was created through the TICAD7 Youth Summit and other
online platforms for adequate representation of African and Japanese youth. Setting the 3 pillars
of TICAD7 as its foundation, the Youth Declaration has inputted Youth voices from multiple
perspectives and backgrounds. This Youth Declaration will be sent to the Japanese government
and TICAD co-hosts, TICAD7 participant countries, as well as international organizations thatare involved in African development.
​Pillar 1 Accelerating economic transformation and improving business environment throughinnovation and private sector engagementWe strongly address the fact that upon undergoing economic development, it is important toaddress problems concerning work and labor, specifically those that concern the young labor
force. Currently, many young people find work in the informal sector, unable to find work withstable employment conditions. However, it is important to note that in Africa, the formal sector
makes up a small portion of the labor force, when compared to the informal sector which also
acts as the biggest safety net. In order to change this situation, there is a strong need forincreased management of the informal sector, and increased job opportunities in the formalsector.
We believe that these unstable work conditions causes not only the mid/ long term impacts onskills, but also creates an impact on skills education in the next generations. Basic educationand educational opportunities that unleash the potential of young people is absolutely necessary
in order to halt the negative cycle in which unequal opportunities in education leads to unequal
opportunities in work. It is also important to create opportunities for life-long learning outside ofcompany trainings and educational institutions like internships and volunteer opportunities
where participants can earn new skills.
We urge policy makers for the implementation of domestic policies that allows for equal
opportunities in education and work to be open for youth of all race, sex, religion, and origin.
We also believe in the necessity of mental support systems for youth that have anxiety in being
able to find a stable job, and acknowledge the fact that these occur in marginalized
communities.
We strongly call on for strict regulation in child labor and labor under atrocious work
environments, and also for health-care systems systems that allows workers to file complaints
and engage in negotiation for better work conditions.
We regard the importance of taking into consideration the differences in culture and tradition as
well as communities when undergoing improvements in business environments.
In order to accelerate the use of E-commerce in African countries, there is a need for increased
investment into stable IT infrastructure that ‘leaves no one behind’ which will lead directly toimproved business environments. We also address the need for IT literacy training and accessto these IT resources.
By taking the B20 Tokyo Summit Joint Declaration “Society 5.0 for SDGs”, the African countries
should also work to protect intellectual property. We also recommend the international
community to open and provide public data on the development of new goods and materials, aswell as services.
We recognize the importance that innovation holds for enabling the private sector to createchanges in the economic structure. There is a necessity for a curriculum based on advanced
tech education in order to accelerate innovation that would, in turn, promote digitalization.
Therefore, it is equally important to provide support systems towards entrepreneurs to allow for
the maximum opportunities in business based on innovation.
Pillar 2 Deepening sustainable and resilient society
We require the need for improvements in the education system to provide a more effective
education for as many people as possible. As for elementary education, though a large number

of children have been provided, the quality of education must be improved. We urge for theimprovements in infrastructure and quality of middle school education in regions whereattendance rates are significantly low compared to other regions. In order to cultivate more highlevel individuals, we believe that high school education must be provided for as many youth aspossible. For that, there must be adjustments to ensure the improvements in faculty,
infrastructure, and administration of these schools.
We suggest the introduction of online classes to make up for the shortage of quality teachers
and to reach youth that do not have access to regular school.
We propose the following 6 proposals in order to increase human resources that could have apositive impact on economic development and in response to the higher rates of Informationand technology communication education (ICT Education):
1) Promote exchange programs on ICT education between developed countries
2) Create opportunities where youth can collaborate with big businesses and undergo
projects
3) Create systems that ensure youth have a spot for work in businesses that use ICT4) Promote ICT youth leadership by creating opportunities where youth can interact withengineers from governments, corporations, international organizations, and fromdeveloped countries
5) Create educational opportunities to increase the number of youth in Tech
6) Have periodic meetings and engaging opportunities that extends beyond country
borders
We require the ban of corporal punishment that hurts children both mentally and physically, andthe introduction of “Positive Discipline” that promotes applause for children.
We call upon governments to recognize and value the contributions of youth such as active
citizenship through volunteering to resilient society and sustainable national development.
According to a UNICEF report, 125 million girls in Africa have married before the age of 18,
which is known as a child marriage.Furthermore, 1 in 3 girls have married before the age of 18,
and about 1 in 10 girls have married before the age of 15.Child marriage is a violation ofchildren’s rights and it negatively impacts their growth and development. Although girls are notthe only victim of child marriage, they encounter increased risk of maternal death due topregnancy and childbirth, are vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation and are more likely
to get deprived of educational opportunities. Therefore such malicious practice must beabolished immediately to ensure that human security is protected.
We acknowledge the fact that sexuality education and youth friendly health services are notsufficiently available in Africa. In order to ensure our own well-being and informed decision forour own body and future, reduce sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies

and promote gender equality, we demand access to sustainable youth friendly health services
and quality comprehensive sexuality education​.
We regard that the impacts of climate change to the whole ecological systems including humanbeings have increased, and that the vulnerability from climate change, especially in developing
countries poses a threat to human security. We require sufficient support toward climate change
problems from both mitigation and adaptation. To tackle these issues, we urge for both thecreation of mitigation and adaptation measure based on ambitious goals.
We call for the development of resilient infrastructure as one of the most effective ways, andpropose formulating city development plans that are enable to resist against serious natural
disasters such as hurricanes and landslides in Mozambique. In addition, we believe thatappropriate education on disaster prevention should be in practice.
In regards to the medical problems in Africa, we believe that the shift from a medical system thatplaces emphasis on the spread of treatment to a system that practices preventative medication
is important. There is a need for a sustainable medical treatment that responds to the aging
population and in order for cost-effective interventions such as health promotion, prevention,and treatment to take place, we recognize that a change of way for the primary health caresystem is essential in Africa.
We recognize that in order to provide more quality medical systems, there must be a bettersupport system for the communities. In order to accurately give these communities the support
they need, there is a need to gather and organize data on birth and death rates.
We demand the African governments to organize their fiscal order for the allocation of domestic
funds to ensure funding for all the necessary medical care.
We recognize that in order to provide more quality medical systems, there must be a bettersupport system for the communities. In order to accurately give these communities the support
they need, there is a need to gather and organize data on birth and death rates.
During the second Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019, preparations
and responses for the emergency shed light on the vulnerability of local medical facilities. A
more efficient system that allows countries to use emergency support from other countries isneeded. ​Strengthening an independent medical system that does not rely on other countries isessential for the African countries, and we urge for an enhancement of advanced medical
education and the promotion of training quality medical personnel. In order to avoid the transferof infectious disease, there is a need to improve the sanitary systems such as sewage andwater systems.
In order to protect human security, we demand every African government to expand on theamelioration of living infrastructure such as medical care, education, and social welfare, to meet
the basic needs of the people, particularly children and youth that are vulnerable.

Additionally, we emphasize the importance of investments to implement people-centereddevelopment, and to support enabling the provision of public services by the Japanese
Government and the international society.
We push for the leaders in African countries, the Japanese government, and the internationalsociety to proceed the development in Africa in the form along with the framework ofinternational conferences as well as conferences at the United Nation, that are related todevelopment including Sustainable Development Goals.
Pillar 3 Strengthening peace and stability
We believe that war, terror, and violence poses as a huge barrier in establishing peace andstability in Africa. In order to bring an end to this state of conflict, we urge TICAD to implement
policies for planning dispute resolutions. In order to combat violence, extremism, and terror, andextend beyond to prevent new conflicts and old conflicts from resurfacing, there is a need forincreased grassroot initiatives to create more resilient communities. This applies to youth
because youth are more inclined to be swayed by extremist activities. There is an immediateneed for policies and systems that prevents young people from resorting to such extremist
ideologies. It is also important that young people who have been left behind are connected
back, and are provided opportunities for involvement such as internships and volunteer
opportunities to be involved in mediation and peace building processes.
By taking into consideration that current models for refugee aid taken up by UNHCR,
government support organizations, as well as NGOs have failed to decrease the number ofrefugees, we urge on policy makers to create innovative solutions that extends beyond whatalready exists. We would also like to see trauma removal and mental care aids towards children
and youth to be mandatory.
We think that there is a need to regard the problems in Western Sahara as one that threatens
the peace, stability, independence, and human rights of all of Africa. Therefore, we urge TICAD
to regard this issue, not as the problem of a single region, but as the problem that all of Africa
must face in order to realize peace within Africa.