At the opening of the 2024 YouthConnekt Africa Summit in Kigali on Friday, November 8, the Director of the United Nation Development Programme’s (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, urged young Africans to embrace confidence and resilience, reminding them of their vital role in shaping the continent's future.

"We rely on you to go confidently and face the world, and bring the kind of values that will help us build a sustainable future. We are counting on you,” Eziakonwa told the thousands of youth attending the four-day summit, which was graced by President Paul Kagame and Lesotho Prime Minister Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane.

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Also in attendance were more than 20 African Ministers of Youth, youth entrepreneurs, leaders, innovators, artists and students from across the continent.

Held in Kigali from November 8-11, the seventh edition of the summit features the theme, "Jobs for Youth Through Innovative Skilling.”

Eziakonwa acknowledged the significance of this theme in preparing Africa’s youth to lead the continent forward.

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"This is such an appropriate theme for this year,” she said. "Without equipping our young people, Africa will continue to lose its resources to [other people] because you don’t have a population that understands how to leverage what it has for its own wellbeing and future,”

Beyond technical skills, Eziakonwa stressed the importance of character development. She noted that skills alone do not guarantee a fair world.

"The world today has many skilled people who have produced transformative innovations, but this has not necessarily led to an equal world,” she said.

"We have greater inequality than ever, where the top five own more than 90 percent of the world’s wealth. This is not the future we want. We need skills that start with character—values that make us one human community, grounded in human rights, dignity, and ‘ubuntu,’ the philosophy of ‘I am because you are.’”

She encouraged young people to examine the character they build alongside their skills, as leaders need integrity and empathy to foster a sustainable future.

"Confidence is vital,” she said. "Africa has suffered a blow to its confidence for generations, with many growing up in a post-colonial mindset that someone else will rescue us. This has to end,” she said.

Eziakonwa added that competence and confidence reinforce each other, making skills-building essential to competing globally. She affirmed UNDP’s continued support for the YouthConnekt initiative.

"Investing in the youth is the core principle that will make our development pact sustainable,” she noted.

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YouthConnekt was founded in Rwanda in 2012 by the government in collaboration with the UNDP.

It has created 8,309 jobs for youth in Rwanda, awarded over 260 project pitch winners, and trained more than 772 youth to improve their skills and projects.

Since its inception, the programme has expanded to 33 African countries, including Lesotho, the most recent member to join it.

The initiative not only identifies and supports outstanding youth achievements but also offers the YouthConnekt Awards, where the top 50 participants receive recognition, and the top four finalists in each category win grand prizes.