Microsoft Word - Achieving the promise of african cultural e

creation in the entertainment sector which can then contribute to address the critical issues of youth unemployment.

Chapter 1 : The youth hold the key to the continent’s future.

The energy, skills and aspirations of young people are invaluable assets that no country can afford to squander. – World Bank, World Development Report 2007. Youth represents a demographic opportunity for Africa Africa is the world’s youngest continent with more than 65 percent of the population under the age of 30 . The youth 1 , those between the ages of 12-24 number around 260 million, a figure that is expected to double by 2045. These figures are unprecedented in human history. Never before have so many young people been alive at the same time and given the ongoing trends in fertility such a situation is unlikely to occur ever again. If the demographic transition to smaller family sizes that is slowly gathering momentum on the continent continues, Africa will see a prolonged period of several decades during which its working age population will have a small number of dependents. Other countries most notably in Asia have managed to turn this transition into a “development miracle” focusing on family planning, education of youth (especially females), improving skills and productivity of the workforce and creating a conducive environment for entrepreneurs in the private sector. However, this virtuous circle has not yet been established in Africa.

Figure 1 : Africa features the highest poverty rate (US$1 per day)

Source: World Bank

1 Since there is no generally accepted definition of youth this report adopts that used in the World Bank World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation. It should be noted that the United Nations defines youth as the 15-24 age group while individual countries have adopted ranges from 6 to 40 years.

5