President of the Republic, Chairperson of the African Union oversees the Opening of the Continental Conference on Education, Youth and Employment

Nouakchott, 10 December 2024, HE President of the Republic and Chairperson of the African Union, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani , oversaw the opening of the Continental Conference on Education, Youth and Employability on Tuesday at the International Convention Centre ‘Al Mourabitoun’ in Nouakchott  in the presence of HE President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, HE President of the Republic of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye and HE President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

More than 30 ministers from various African countries, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), experts and researchers in the field of education, as well as representatives of international and non-governmental organisations are participating in the conference organised under the theme ‘Educated Africa for the 21st century’.

The conference, which is organised by our country and represented by the Ministry of Education and Education Reform in partnership with the AUC )African Union Commission( and UNICEF, aims to assess the level of implementation by AU member states of the commitments and decisions made to develop education in Africa, and to showcase successful models, innovative and sustainable solutions and educational transformation from across the continent to meet the requirements of the 21st century.

The conference also aims to foster partnerships and collaborations to deepen knowledge sharing among policymakers, researchers, educators and civil society stakeholders, and explore sustainable financing of education through leveraging local resources and other innovative mechanisms to transform education systems.

The three-day conference will address key areas that will contribute to reducing out-of-school children and improving learning, such as curriculum reform and competency-based learning, teacher development and professional support, continentally responsive learning outcomes assessment, literacy in environmental sustainability and climate change, and integrating local knowledge and cultural perspectives into curricula.

The conference will discuss how to utilise digital technologies in education, and themes such as ‘inclusive education and equity’, ‘STEM education and 21st century skills’, ‘vocational and technical education’, and ‘financing and governance for educational transformation’.