Abdou Samb Foundation's Ambitious Vision to have Youth as the Seventh Region of the African Union
Young African leaders convened at the 50th Anniversary of June 16 Summit hosted by the University of South Africa (UNISA) in collaboration with the Abdou Samb Foundation, to interrogate one of the continent's most pressing questions: whether Africa's youth are being genuinely empowered or merely accommodated by the institutions that shape their futures.
The discussion, framed around the concept of Africa's youth as a "seventh region" of the African Union, not a geographical territory, but a demographic and intellectual force that transcends borders, drew sharp interventions from panellists on coloniality, economic ownership, and the gap between procedural transformation and substantive change.
Opening the forum, moderator Rutendo Chikowore, challenged participants to move beyond inspirational rhetoric. "Young people cannot simply be leaders of tomorrow," she said, invoking the late Nelson Mandela's famous dictum only to complicate it. "They must be leaders of today. They must be included in meetings where policies are adopted, where investments are made, where solutions are designed, and where the future of our continent is being shaped."
