Chido Cleopatra Mpemba

“Through a listening tour, I commit to engaging with youth organisations, youth transformative groups and young Africans across our continent and in the Diaspora with the aim to represent everyone and to tap into all the bright ideas that will propel and accelerate further efforts.“I advocate for inclusion of young people with disabilities in decision-making processes. It is important that no one person is left behind.”

“So, that is what I am lobbying for and come 2023, I believe that one of my priorities as I am in office is to make sure that we have more young people sitting on the table in these discussions as we deliberate, in terms of Africa, where we are, where we would like to go, and ensure that all the young people are also represented in these conversations.””

““I am lobbying that come next year the next AU Heads of State Summit should be held in collaboration with an AU Youth Summit, so that young people can get to sit on the same table with Heads of State and be able to drive the agenda in achieving the Africa that we want and engineer the solutions together.”

“I would say do not ever underestimate the impact that you makein this world. I feel like as young people at times, we underestimate how we’re contributing towards society. But never do so, it could be within a community, within a family, within a country, a continent or globally, but ultimately, we are all contributing, at whichever stage that you are. So, keep that in mind. Always do the best that you can.”

“For young people worldwide, my message is that the future is in our hands. We must act now. We must influence decisions that affect us.”

“I'm glad that the African Union appointed African Youth Peace Ambassadors for the various regions in Africa. And we've been having consultations regarding a Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security. As I speak, Youth Peace Ambassadors are in Nigeria to consult on that framework and to assist in rolling out a national action plan on peace and security.”

“I expect young people to be at the forefront of efforts to address the climate crisis. We should have the needs of young people at the forefront when it comes to climate adaptation and climate financing. We must also have opportunities for young Africans to innovate and provide climate solutions. For COP27, I am hoping there is a youth advisory board to ensure that the needs of young people are fully represented.”

“What's come up the most is youth livelihoods. They also want us to focus on accelerating efforts on tackling issues related to climate change and adaptability, climate finance, and climate education.”