Message from CAFOR Chairperson- Prof Kate Adoo-Adeku

I bring you warm greetings and best wishes on behalf of the Executive Board and members of CAFOR. I also take this opportunity of extending my heartfelt greetings to the African Union Commission, our host institution. We wish to express our profound gratitude for the great support and assistance we continue to get from the Commission.  It is my pleasure to convey to you all this messages as we release our first activities report which covers two and a half years of our existence. I also take this opportunity to thank all the staff of the CAFOR Secretariat based in Addis Ababa, Brazzaville and Nairobi for their tireless efforts to ensure the smooth running of the CAFOR machinery despite the challenges that you all face daily. We wish to, on this occasion, express our appreciation to you all while we say behind every cloud there is a silver lining.

Download the CAFOR Activities Report 2018-2020

CAFOR is a relatively young organization established to promote development activities that would enhance Africa’s Development Agenda with a focus on the African Youth. A significant ingredient is the promotion of communication in support of Education which is the crucial tool in using to accelerate its work with the three key concepts of Communication, Education and Development. These three conceptions are intertwined to create a healthy environment which would offer space for the youth on the continent to develop employable opportunities for their well-being, families, and their nations.

CAFOR has put in place a strategic plan with critical structures that would help it to promote its work on the continent as consistent with its vision and mission. Young as it is, and despite the challenges it is facing amidst the emergence of   COVID 19, CAFOR in its modest manner and within a short space of time has succeeded in making its presence felt in many regions in Africa,  and even globally. Consequently, the existence of CAFOR has boosted some remarkable awareness about the situation with young people on the African continent. The strategic plan it has put in place would give both meaning and direction on the key areas it shall be operating on for the next couple of years.

CAFOR will, in the next few years, support qualified, underprivileged young people with demonstrated high potential from Africa, to access education and employable and entrepreneurial skills. CAFOR strives to work with multiple stakeholders to ensure the integration of global and AU continental policy agenda into development policy and practice at the country level. CAFOR’s collaboration with the European Business University in Luxembourg which has initially provided 50 scholarships for young African students in TVET and business administration is a highly commendable start. As we expect another 100 scholarships for African youths, we look forward to new employment avenues for the course beneficiaries.

Download the CAFOR Activities Report 2018-2020

CAFOR also works with media agencies specialized in learning and development reporting, communication researchers and trainers, education specialists and organizations engaged in areas of concern to training for the youth and development. CAFOR will eventually be uniquely placed to provide a continent-wide platform for exchanging information, experience and practices on new technologies and innovations for youth empowerment among experts in government ministries, CSOs, NGOs, the media, the youth, and communities.

CAFOR has also put in place a Resource Mobilization Strategy for the period 2020 – 2024. The strategy will ensure a transparent, systematic, predictable, and well-coordinated approach to soliciting, acquiring, and utilization, management, reporting, monitoring, and evaluating assistance from International Cooperating Partners. It will also support the expanding of the resource base to ensure sustainable resource availability for implementation of CAFOR’s programmes as stipulated in CAFOR’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. In this respect, CAFOR will develop and improve relations and dialogue with the African Union Commission and all Technical and Financial Development Partners in Africa and elsewhere. The organization will establish the framework for resource mobilization and acquire adequate resources to implement all its activities.

CAFOR will further elaborate on and execute an effective resource mobilization strategy with a roadmap for the evolution of strategic partnerships and financial resource mobilization. Business sponsors, organizations providing grants that include individuals and organizations involved in participating financially to the Education and training of young people in Africa would support CAFOR in its efforts to mobilize adequate resources. CAFOR will also develop a business case for financial support that would be sustained with relevant documentation of its policy impact and results since its inception in January 2018, for dissemination to key existing and potential technical and financial partners. We say a big thank you to all who have assisted in diverse ways to help CAFOR achieve some of its noble objectives.

Download the CAFOR Activities Report 2018-2020