Today in Rome, at the headquarters of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the launch of the Italian component of the Africa-Europe Youth Academy (AEYA) initiative took place. This initiative is implemented under a delegated cooperation funded by the European Commission and carried out in partnership with the French agency Expertise France, the lead of the consortium.
Officially launched on February 1, 2025, AEYA is a four-year initiative with a total value of 15 million euros, of which 6 million are managed by AICS. It aims to strengthen youth leadership in 20 Sub-Saharan African countries by promoting skills, connections, and opportunities for new generations, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The meeting brought together the Agency’s partners for the initiative:
· University of Turin (UniTo)
· University of Pavia (UniPv)
· European University Institute (EUI)
Representatives from the following African partner universities were also present:
· Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania)
· Arba Minch University (Ethiopia)
· Joseph Ki-Zerbo University (Burkina Faso)
During the meeting, the strategic and operational guidelines of the initiative were presented, which foresee two main components for the Agency:
· Amplify Potential (Work Package 2) – In-person training sessions and hackathons in collaboration with local universities, aimed at the development of community micro-projects for sustainable development.
· Connect Potential (Work Package 3) – Online courses, mentoring activities, and the creation of transnational networks among African and European youth.
The activities will be implemented by UniTo and UniPv in collaboration with the above-mentioned African universities, while the EUI will manage the online mentoring platform and the organization of local events.
AICS has planned centralized management of the initiative through the establishment of a Project Management Unit (PMU) within Office IV (Human Development), supported by the Delegated Cooperation Office. The PMU, currently being set up, will be composed of Agency staff and two external experts (one with an administrative profile and one technical).
The priority countries for AICS intervention are Niger, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi. AEYA also fits within the priorities of the Mattei Plan, creating synergies with other ongoing AICS initiatives in the field of youth training and entrepreneurship, such as the AICS Academy in Tanzania.
The day represented an important moment of direct coordination between AICS, Italian universities, and African universities, to consolidate the shared vision of the initiative and define the next steps towards the implementation of activities in partner countries.
The next appointment will be on September 30 in Dakar, Senegal, for the official launch of the AEYA initiative on the African continent, aiming to assert its vision and ambitions, mobilize key actors in the youth ecosystem, strengthen connections between partners, and gather youth perspectives to support the program’s definition.
