Youth Employment in Africa: Book & Repository Launch Celebration

Join us on November 21, 2025 at 14:00 UTC (5 p.m. EAT) for a 75-minute interactive webinar featuring youth-centered insights, policy innovations, and evidence-based solutions for dignified and fulfilling work for young people.

Edited by PEP Research Fellows Ramos Mabugu and Lucas Ronconi, the book ‘Youth Employment Programmes in Africa’ brings together findings from nine countries that participated in the What Works for Youth Employment in Africa initiative. PEP supported this initiative in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The book highlights key lessons, policy insights, and evidence on what is—and is not—working to create meaningful employment opportunities for young Africans through policies.

The new open-access repository gathers research outputs from the initiative, organised by country, publication type, and action area. This evolving knowledge hub aims to connect evidence, researchers, and policymakers to scale what works.

This webinar will convene youth, youth representatives, researchers, policymakers, and development partners to discuss this new evidence and share practical lessons for improving youth employment outcomes in Africa.

Register now

Event Program

The event will begin at 14:00 UTC (find your local time). It will be held on Zoom, in English.

• Welcome and introduction – Prof. Jane Mariara (PEP Executive Director) and a representative from the Mastercard Foundation (TBC) will introduce the What Works for Youth Employment in Africa research initiative.
   
• Presentation by the editors – Lucas Ronconi will present the book, highlighting key findings and lessons learned from the comparative research.
   
• Panel discussion on Challenges Ahead and Priorities for Moving Forward
  Panelists:
  • Lucas Ronconi, PEP Research Fellow and book co-editor
  • Hennery Sebukeera, Uganda National Planning Authority and co-author of Chapter 10
  • Thembelihle Makhubela, Hand in Hand Southern Africa, and co-author of Chapter 9
  • Lissan Meless, Addis Ababa Revenue Bureau, co-author of Chapter 2
    
    Moderated by Tadzie Madzima, PEP Director of Communications
     
• Q&A session with attendees
   
• Launch of the Repository
   
• Conclusions and closing remarks

If you have not attended a Zoom webinar before, please read this guide to joining and participating as an attendee.

The event will be recorded to be distributed publicly afterwards. By registering for this event, you give your consent for this. The information you provide will be held on our database to process your booking. We do not share data with any third parties.