Young people attending ADF-V had frank exchanges of opinion with political leaders who came to speak to them on Saturday.

In an interactive debate, the young Africans pointed out that this African Development Forum should not be reduced to a talking shop. They suggested that the African Youth Charter, devised by the African Union, should be used as a monitoring tool to evaluate progress on youth issues and be included in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process.

Speakers included the Tanzanian Vice President Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein and the former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin.

Vice President Shein pointed to several initiatives by the government of Tanzania to involve the youth in national affairs, including the allocation of some parliamentary seats. He also cited the example of Tanzania's founding father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who led the national independence movement while still a youth himself, and urged today's young people to emulate such examples.

Paul Martin called on African countries to form a single market, saying the fact that Africa was divided into 53 countries was holding back economic progress. “Don't let national self interest stop you from developing,” he told the youngsters, and urged them to “take charge” of the continent's, and their own futures.

Many of the young people stressed that social integration was as important as economic integration, and to this end, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa ( ECA) Abdoulie Janneh suggested that this ADF could be the start of a process bringing young people together across boundaries. He said the African Youth Forum could be used to popularize the youth charter and agitate for African integration.

Many youngsters called for direct dialogue between themselves and their political leaders. They preferred to stay put in Africa, rather than seek their fortunes elsewhere, but they wanted incentives. “Leaders must recognize their weaknesses and limits regarding the youth,” one young interlocutor noted.

Two representatives from the diaspora also noted the great contributions in remittances made by Africans living outside the continent to boost national economies. “The diaspora is the new driving force for Africa,” one of them pointed out.

There was much debate on the vast natural resources that Africa possesses and yet grinding poverty continues on the continent. All were in agreement that these resources should be exploited to help the poor, but the former Canadian premier cautioned against focusing solely on natural resources. He said if the economy was only linked to natural resources, this would drive up wage scales which could not be matched by other sectors. And the infrastructure would be geared only to exports which would not benefit the interior of countries. He said a “complete economic policy” was preferable.

Winding up the session, the AU commissioner for social affairs Bience P. Gawanas urged the young people to make sure their respective governments signed and ratified the charter. “There is a huge difference between an instrument and its implementation,” she said.

She called for decisive youth action, advising them to enter into partnerships with each other rather than depending solely on their leaders and to follow up closely implementation of the charter's provisions.

The African Development Forum (ADF-V) closed on Saturday with the adoption of a consensus statement vowing, among other issues, to enhance youth capacity and empowerment.

Following a lengthy debate however, young people raised certain concerns and made a number of suggestions. The document will be amended to take these into account.

The document acknowledges that young people face a range of challenges that constrain them from fulfilling their potential. It calls for partnerships at all levels to provide the youth with leadership opportunities.

“Only if such partnerships are created and sustained, with the youth at the helm of all efforts, can African countries accelerate development and put the continent on a path to peace and prosperity,” the document says.

It covers a whole range of issues affecting the lives of young people and suggests actions to improve gender equality, access to education, employment prospects, health issues, civil society involvement, input into decision-making, religious tolerance and conflict resolution.

Key to attaining these improvements, the document says, is implementation of the African Youth Charter, which was launched at the conference. The document calls for including the charter as a monitoring instrument within the African Peer Review Mechanism. It also urges the African Union to set up a task force for monitoring and evaluating compliance with the charter.

In a statement at the ADF closing ceremony, UN Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Abdoulie Janneh, commended the youth for the mature way in which they conducted the debates and arrived at a consensus statement.

“You are the best bequeath that our continent can leave to the future”, he said, and added that ECA would be “an ever present ally” to the youth.

Addressing a press conference at the end of the debates, Kenya's Youth Minister Mohammed Abdi Kuti said African governments were under pressure because of the challenges facing young people. He noted that although African countries still had to ratify the African Youth Charter, many had already put in place national youth policies.

A youth representative concluded by stating that the Forum had raised awareness among both young people and their leaders, and that now the youth were taking ownership of processes underway in their countries.

The African Development Forum is a multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa's development. The Forum initiated in 1999, has already been held four times with very good concrete outcomes including the initiation of a programme to support national ICT policy formulation and implementation in Africa. The fifth forum will be organised under the theme " Youth and Leadership in the 21 st Century", from November 16-18, 2006, by the Economic Commission for Africa jointly with its strategic regional partner, the Africa Union and in collaboration with other stakeholders in African development.

The decision to devote the Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) to youth emanates from the frank acknowledgement by various stakeholders that political stability, social solidification, and economic prosperity lie in harnessing the capacities of the youth.

Globally, youth concerns have been receiving increasing attention. The World Bank, for example, is devoting its 2007 edition of the World Development Report to youth under the theme, "Development and the Next Generation". In October 2005, following the review of progress on implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY), the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (RES/60/2) reaffirming WPAY, which among other things:

• Called upon Governments to develop, in consultation with youth organisations, holistic and integrated youth policies based on WPAY,

• Requested the Regional Commissions to organise regional consultations with Member States and youth organisations in order to evaluate the implementation of the WPAY, and

• Called upon organisations, programmes and specialised agencies in the UN system to enhance inter-agency arrangements on youth policies and programmes with a view to improving coordination and enhancing synergies among relevant system activities in this regard.

The African Union has already adopted an African Youth Charter that seeks to provide the political framework for youth development on the continent. At the national level several countries have also initiated attempts to develop national youth policies. However, the policy deficiencies in youth development and the gap between the real situation of youth in Africa and the potential contribution youth could make towards the achievement of development on the continent warrants further discussion that would lead to stronger concerted effort in developing our youth at all levels.

The Trade, Finance and Economic Development Division (TFED) convened a two-day meeting on capital markets development in Nairobi, Kenya on 10-11 November 2006. The meeting was attended by participants from commercial banks, central banks, national stock exchanges, regulatory bodies, multilateral development agencies such as International Monetary Fund, International Finance Corporation, International Climate Facility and key Pan-African institutions such as the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank. The objectives of the forum were to deliberate and exchange views on the problems and challenges confronting capital market development in Africa and explore the benefits and risks of a regional approach to capital market development.

It was argued that Africa's capital markets are small and shallow and therefore lack the capacity to generate sufficient capital to finance long-term development. The experts therefore concluded that regionalization of capital markets can overcome the problems currently bedeviling national capital markets. More importantly, regionalization has the potential of increasing liquidity of capital markets through the pooling of resources and thus provides a larger pool of investible resources for national and regional development. However, they cautioned against a ‘big bang' approach to regionalization of capital markets.

The experts urged for a more sequenced and gradual approach to regionalization of capital markets- first strengthening national capital markets before turning to regionalization. Other important steps that could be taken before regionalization may include cross-listing, mutual recognition, harmonization of policies, regulatory frameworks and clearance and settlement procedures.

They also bemoaned the dearth of research on capital markets development issues and called strengthened research on capital market to buttress policy-making. It was agreed that ECA would undertake a study on key issues of relevance to capital markets development in Africa.

Dear friends,

It is a dream come true as I am attending to the Africa Development Forum now in Addis Ababa Ethiopia with other youths.

The theme for this summit is Youth and Leadership in the 21st century.

I wil keep you updated as events unfold.

Lets keep a date.

Young journalists attending to the Speak Africa media training workshop from 16 countries in Africa have been charged by Henry to help their continent answer her leadership problem and help solve the problem with their voices, opinions, views, aspirations and dreams of their countries.

How you will change the face of your country within six months. Talk, Say it, Speak Africa and lets have it given to the world. It is youth speaking and it is our leadership role in this 21st century.

You are invited to be part of this, from Africa.

Africa is a continent of the young, with more than 60% of the total population below the age of 25. Any serious policy for social, political and economic development in Africa must recognize the importance of young people, especially in promoting social progress, reducing political tension and maximizing economic performance.

Unlike other continents, Africa's population is becoming more youthful, with youth as a proportion of the total population projected at over 75% by 2015, due to the high fertility rate underlying the demographic momentum. Currently, young people account for 45% of the total labour force in Africa; hence, the need for Africa's development efforts to reflect this demographic fact.

Young Africans will get a chance to pay tribute to Kofi Annan next week when he makes one of his last official trips to the continent as Secretary General of the United Nations.

Mr. Annan will deliver the keynote address at the fifth African Development Forum, due to take place in the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from Thursday to Saturday, November 16-18.

He will meet young people from across Africa who are flying to Ethiopia to take part in the Forum, which this year is focused on the theme 'Youth and Leadership in the 21st Century'.

Other prominent Africans who are due to attend the Forum include Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia; Professor Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union and Dr Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank.

Some of the continent's best-loved celebrities will also be in attendance, including South African rapper and actor Zola and the world-renowned singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo (from Benin).

Participants will take part in a wide range of debates and sessions on issues including 'Youth employment & migration', 'Youth entrepreneurship', 'Youth and Information Communication Technology' and 'Youth, Health and HIV/Aids'.

They will also get a chance to express themselves through 'Speak Africa' - a new and groundbreaking communications initiative running parallel to this year's Forum.

Speak Africa is a UNICEF-backed venture which encourages young Africans to discuss key issues through the internet, TV and other media. It has invited youngsters from across Africa to come and cover the Forum and participate in a range of other events from media workshops and film screenings to exhibitions.

Speak Africa Challenge Media Training Workshop has opened in Addis Ethiopia to encourage and build young journalists that would speak Africa and report Africa.

A new Sultan of Sokoto has emerged, his name is Alhaji Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III.

The new Sultan was announced on November 2 2006. And he succeeds late Sultan Mohammed Maccido who died on the ADC crash.

We all recieve with delight the news of the emergence of Alhaji Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III as the new Sultan of Sokoto.