AR goes continental

The African Union's newly-elected commissioner for African diaspora and external affairs Job Amupanda has promised that Africa will never be the same again as his election marks the era of radical and fearless youth. The African Youth Commission is the pan African youth version of the African Union Commission, representing the voice of youth and regional youth organisations across the African continent and diaspora. It serves as a unique platform for young people from 55 African countries (including the Kingdom of Morocco).Amupanda, who was elected in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week, made it clear that the message of his brainchild Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement will be spread all over the continent.“The youth of Africa have been following the AR and its clear philosophy since 2014. In May 2016, we were invited to be part of the Banjul+10 Summit in The Gambia. It was at this summit that African youth got to know about the AR movement and began to pursue radical programmes in their countries. Some of the youth, for example in The Gambia went on to become radical activists that agitated for the removal of dictator Yahya Jammeh, and some of them were just released from prison,” he said. As part of his vision for his portfolio, Amupanda plans to work hard to mobilise and connect African youth in the diaspora with those living on the African continent.“To contextualise this further it is important to locate the concentration of the African diaspora. There are more than 50 million in Brazil, more than 40 million are in the United States, more than eight million in Haiti, four million in Colombia, three million in France and more than two million in Jamaica, Venezuela and the United Kingdom, to mention but a few,” he said. The measures that will be employed to locate these youth include the establishment of an African Diaspora Youth Consciousness Network in each region, organising and coordinating the African Diaspora Annual Conference. He also plans to revive Marcus Garvey's 'Back-to-Africa' narratives particularly aimed at attracting economically abled African youth to return and invest in Africa.“One of my first meetings will be at the German-African Forum. This year we will be setting up the frameworks and a strategic plan. We have already asked the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to help us with these programmes,” he said.JEMIMA BEUKES

AR goes continental

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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AR goes continental

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-02

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