Regional Youth Steering Committee (East & Southern Africa)

In August 2023, UN Women East and Southern African Regional Office welcomed nine (9) youth gender advocates to serve in the Regional Youth Steering Committee (RYSC). The nine advocates, who responded to a call for expression of interest to join the Committee, were selected following a rigorous screening process undertaken by UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (ESA) in collaboration with UN Women Country Offices. The members are drawn from the East and Southern Africa Region and have diverse professional backgrounds with a strong orientation towards championing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. 

The committee will serve as a strategic advisory group in integrating meaningful engagement of young women and men in implementing the UN Women ESARO’s Strategic Note 2022-2025 and the attendant Youth Engagement Strategy. 

During the inaugural meeting in August 2023, the committee concretely defined their motivation for a more gender equal ESA Region in their overall mission and vision: 

Mission 

Accelerating change towards meaningful youth participation with women at the forefront. 

Vision 

Building an Africa where youth have impactful voices in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment and is free to express their talents, especially women with no judgment and inspiring others along the way. A region where youth are empowered through meaningful engagement, integration of their knowledge, skills and talents as both a means and an end with clear appreciation of the impact of technology to include all young Africans digitally to leave no one behind. 

The 9 driven and enthusiastic members of the Committee, will serve the region on a voluntary basis, offering their invaluable contribution towards shaping UN Women ESARO’s youth engagement in the spirit of comprehensive inter-generational dialogues and knowledge generation and sharing, guided by the 2030 Agenda and Generation Equality.