The UNESCO Chair on Youth Leadership in Science, Health, Gender, and Education, hosted under CoEWCH EA and chaired by Prof Marleen Temmerman, aims at promoting civil society development, health, and wellbeing through empowering the next generation of young leaders in East Africa.
Globally, there are an estimated 1.8 billion adolescents and youth whose needs are not being met, mostly based in low- and middle-income countries. Aligned with global efforts, such as the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health 2021-2025 Strategy, the UNESCO Chair seeks to engage and partner across sectors to provide evidence-based solutions, practices, and partnerships.
Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Chair is premised on the belief that investing in young people is investing in a sustainable future for East Africa. Through collaboration with higher education institutions, Aga Khan Development Network partners, government, UN, civil society, and youth organizations, young people’s needs are identified, and sustainable solutions are formulated.
The Chair promotes scientific excellence and innovation, health, and wellbeing, and builds the health, social, economic, political and rights assets of young women and men. Through capacity building of youth in health and gender aspects, training, and mentorship in strengthening of life and communication skills, and indulging them in research, the Chair promotes scientific excellence and innovation, health and well-being of youth. The Chair also aims to address gender norms and sociocultural practices in order to reduce gender inequalities and sexual and gender-based violence.
UNESCO's global priorities include Africa, gender equality, and youth, and the Chair’s aims to focus on gender and youth as key objectives. As youth is a key target group for UNESCO education programme interventions, it engages with young people globally by supporting youth-led initiatives and networks, strengthening capacities, fostering their knowledge production, and creating dialogue spaces between youth, policymakers and other partners. Believing that all forms of discrimination based on gender are violations of human rights, UNESCO emphasizes that women and men must enjoy equal opportunities, choices, capabilities, power and knowledge as equal citizens.
Furthermore, the UNESCO Chair objectives are in linked to the SDGs, the UN 2030 Youth Strategy, national Kenyan policies such as Vision 2030, the Presidential ‘Big Four’ priorities, and the National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy 2015. And regional strategies and policies such as the East African Communities Youth Policy and its focus on health, gender, community development and civil society.
Highlighted by the WHO-UNICEF-UNFPA call to action on climate change and maternal, newborn, and child health, young people are increasingly aware of the challenges and risks presented by the climate crisis and of the opportunity to achieve sustainable development brought by a solution to climate change.