Where African & European Youth
THINK and ACT together.
Discover all the projects in which the Clusters are involved
The AU-EU Youth Hub is a multi-stakeholder platform, with Youth at its core, seeking to test new approaches in the African Union-European Union partnership.
The Hub acts as a transformative and empowering force showing ways of bringing Africa and Europe closer in a win-win partnership, improving public welfare and revitalizing communities.


Within the Hub, Youth, AU & EU, Civil Society Organisations and private sector companies are prototyping ideas in reality; piloting them on a small scale but with maximum impact, visibility and result-evidence. Hundreds of Youth are involved locally in 7 pilot projects, unfolding in 17 countries of Africa & Europe for the benefit of an estimated 150.000 young people.
About the projects and CSOs
Looking ahead, each cluster collaborate with the CSOs in charge of implementing the project. Cluster members help to provide maximum visibility and added value where possible. The aim is to pioneer a dynamic monitoring method along the course of implementation.
Clusters & Experts
Business, Job Creation & Entrepreneurship
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In the EU, the multiplication of precarious jobs and non-standard forms of contracts and high levels of unemployment have long-term consequences for the earning potential of youth and their future opportunities, ultimately inhibiting economic innovation and jeopardising the achievement of (“Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”).
The role of the private sector in generating jobs is key. But in order to attract responsible domestic and foreign investments, stable and open financial systems, an enabling investment climate and proactive job creation policies are required. At the same time, it is crucial to ensure that social protection systems are adequate and adapted to new forms of work.

Aba Esther Eshun
Ghana

Jordan Stephanou
Cyprus Diaspora in South Africa

Alieu Jallow
Gambia

Andrew Ddembe
Uganda

Elena Bonell de Pascual
Spain

Yorick Bruins
The Netherlands

Daniel Oulai
Ivory Coast

Ismaeel Tharwat
Egyptian in diaspora in France
Discover the Business cluster’s pilot project
Culture, Sports & Arts
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The culture sector is also increasingly a source of job creation, contributing to growth, and an excellent conduit for promoting social inclusion. The 2030 Agenda marks a substantial step forward for culture as it is the first time that the global development framework refers to culture in relation to several SDGs (education, sustainable cities, food security, the environment, economic growth, sustainable consumption and production patterns, peaceful and inclusive societies).

Ebenezer Agu
Nigeria

Aude Taligrot
France

Romuald Parfait Ngomssi Ngomssi
Cameroon

Sandy Alibo
Ghana - France

Clemence Nahimana
Rwanda
Discover the Culture, Sports & Arts cluster’s pilot project
Education
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Education and skills are vital to enable young people to become active citizens and to provide them with opportunities. Sustainable investment in education and the promotion of lifelong learning is the best protection against poverty and to foster the acquisition of the necessary competences to be an active and independent citizens.
Under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, States have committed to SDG4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

Marilena Maragkou
Greece
Marilena holds a Bachelor in Management & Business Administration and a Msc in International Marketing. From 2013 to 2018 she worked on European projects at the University of Piraeus in diverse capacities, collaborating with the EU Representation in Greece and the European Parliament Information Office. She is the co-founder of an educational project that was implemented in 7 African countries, entitled WE AfriHug, aiming at empowering African youth with skills needed for the 21st Century and raising awareness about study opportunities through Erasmus +. Thousands of students and academic staff were reached in universities and secondary schools across 7 countries throughout 7 months and synergies have been created between African and Greek universities.

Aoudou Mounchili
Cameroon

Ademulegun Olowojoba
Nigeria
Ademulegun Olowojoba is a human capital development specialist who works closely with government and private sector institutions in developing quality human capital development systems for young Africans.
Ademulegun holds a Bachelor in Engineering, a diploma in Data Journalism and an executive certificate in Social Sector Management. From 2014 – 2016, he served as the founding curator of opportunitiesforyouths.com, an online community that connects young people with education and development opportunities.
Between 2016 and 2018 he served as a project team member of ReadysetWork, an initiative by Lagos’ State Government to improve graduate employability across tertiary institutions within the State. In 2016, he led Community Affairs for Microsoft Nigeria, where he was responsible for implementing the youth employment and digital skills development efforts of the organization in Nigeria, reaching over 25,000 youth. In 2017 he served as the pioneer Project Lead of CodeLagos, an initiative sponsored by the Lagos State Ministry of Education. He supervised the expansion of the program to +300 coding centres and over 40,000 beneficiaries.
In 2018, he founded codetutor.com.ng, a startup that is committed to making computer science education and technology skills accessible to young Nigerians while also creating access to decent job opportunities and on this role he has led the training of over 5,000 beneficiaries.

Shimma Mohammed
Egypt
I am a Science graduate, working as an Operations manager for an innovative social enterprise called Olomangy. 5 years ago I havefounded Olomangy depending on personal funding, it is working on improving the quality of education (SDG4) especially STEAMeducation in Africa through learning by doing programs and designing up to date interactive STEAM content, we have reachedover 13000 teacher and students in Africa, in addition, we have simplified STEAM content for around 40000 followers on our socialmedia channels. Last year, African Union selected Olomangy as one of the top 50 education innovators in Africa at the innovativeeducation conference in Senegal. Lately, we are working on 2 initiatives, the first one aims to raise the awareness of STEAMeducation especially digital education in rural African communities, the second one aims to digitalize the STEAM content in shapeof practical website that will be accessible for teachers, home schooling parents and students especially in North Africa.
Last year, I was in Uganda with my Japanese college (JICA advisor) to train 1540 students and teacher in rural areas on how to simplify STEAM Education using surrounding cheap local materials, it was a successful trip, our reach was 1540 students and theirteachers plus the national training centre of Science trainers.
2017/2018, I was deployed by African Union to work at CEMASTEA Kenya research centre which works on improving STEMeducation in Africa especially through teacher training. I have 6 years' experience in STEAM education field working for differententities in different countries like Future University in Egypt, CEMASTEA Kenya, International organizations like African Union,enterprise, NGOs and Multinational Company like Nagwa which is specialized in digital education, I also received differentinternational trainings and participated in different programs that works on enhancing the STEAM education in Africa. Recently Ihave been awarded a scholarship form Alghurair foundation to start my online master at Arizona State University in EducationTechnology.
Discover the Education cluster’s pilot project
Environmental Preservation & Climate Change
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Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. People around the world are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, including changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events. Climate change finds its origins in human activities and in greenhouse gas emissions.
Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is projected to continue rising and to surpass 3°C this century. Therefore, SDG13 urges to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. The poorest and most vulnerable people are most affected by the impacts of climate change. Outbreaks of infectious diseases and famines highlight the effects and inter-linkages of insecurity, climate change, and food and water shortages. These challenges have led to unprecedented levels of forced displacements in Africa.

Biao Affo
Togo
Biao holds a Master of Engineering in Water and Forests with an elective in Natural Resources Ecology and Management. He boasts a broad experience in environment engineering, geographic information systems, rural development, green economy and human rights. He founded the “Climate Innovation Laboratory Togo” (CIL TOGO), which focuses on green innovation (eco-entrepreneurship) support through capacities building, consulting services and networking and events and forums.
Biao is currently working as Analyst for Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI)- Governance Togo supporting the ministry in charge of agriculture for execution and "Delivery" in implementation priority projects and for foreign investments’ promotion and facilitation.

Komi Elom Claude Sodokin
Togo - France
Komi founded a start-up at the age of 17 and he is the founder and leader of a youth platform (Ecolotrip) on climate change. For three years, he has been responsible for project development and management in a local startup, with a goal was to provide local, namely rural, population with biogas and electricity produced from manure. He gained a Bachelor in Mines and Environment in Niger and a specialization in Engineering, with a major in electronuclear installations at the College of High Level studies in Caen, France.

Antonette Ncube
Botswana
Antonette is one of the IUPAC Next Generation Programme 2019 Alumni and also an Agriprenuer N-GAGE Champion for Solar Charged Drone intergration in Crop Protection based in Botswana. She is an experienced Agronomist, an AgVocate and a Youth Expert in the Environmemtal Preservation and Climate Change Cluster for the AU-EU Youth Hub. She is an Open Source Leader of the Commonwealth100 through the Common Purpose Initiative. She has a profound knowledge and experience in related topics such as food security, agribusiness, climate smart agricultural approaches, transformational resilience thinking techniques and precision farming. She is also an Agricultural YouTube Vlogger, using her native language and English to inspire young people across the world towards perceptions built around Agriculture.

Gerard Okowonko
Nigeria
Okonkwo Gerard, is a 2017 MSc graduate of forest and nature conservation, Wageningen University, in the Netherlands. Gerard currently works as a junior researcher in environment, collaborates in Climate change intervention projects in the Netherlands, has strong project monitoring/environmental impact assessment experience, and has also been a youth-member of the IUCN- ecosystem management commission since 2015. He did research for one year on desertification and drought resistant trees in Ghana, resulting in a video interview with the National geographic magazine published in September 2017. Gerard has volunteered in Elephant conservation/environmental monitoring research in both Nigeria and Ghana. He was the President of the African student community at his university, learning from African refugees about the disruptive displacement impacts of climate change. In September 2017, he was selected to participate as an environment and climate change fellow during the AU-EU Youth Plug-In Initiative and contributed in the development of the youth agenda, the basis for the current AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub pilot project. He now provides support to the Environment and Climate Change cluster of the Hub.
Discover the Environment cluster’s pilot project
Governance, Political Inclusion & Democratic Inclusion
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Governance, development and security are closely interlinked. Resilient societies, with accountable, democratic and transparent institutions in which human rights are respected, are much more likely to enjoy sustainable development and stability. Inclusive participation of citizens in public decision making and, in particular, the involvement of youth and women in formal political processes can increase trust in state institutions.
Strong, transparent and efficient institutions are key in areas such as public finance management, the fight against corruption and fraud or domestic revenue mobilisation, a prerequisite for the state being able to deliver, which is often undermined by Illicit Financial Flows. This situation is meant to be addressed under SDG16, which is dedicated to the provision of access to justice for all, and to building effective, accountable institutions at all levels (“Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”).

Benjamin Mwape
Zambia
A dynamic and accomplished communication specialist by profession and youth development expert, Benjamin brings to the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub over ten years experience in the international development sector, successfully implementing communications & advocacy strategies as well as youth development projects for governments, civil society and UN agencies. He has been actively involved in shaping policy and practice through youth-led accountability models that engage young people and policy makers. He was equally instrumental in the review of the national youth policy in Zambia as well as serving on the board of the National Youth Development Council as an adviser to the Minister of Youth. Benjamin uses his communication skills and experience to advocate for greater youth participation in governance at national, regional and international platforms.

Mildred Nzau
Kenya

Brian Mafuso
Zimbabwe

Ismaeel Tharwat
Egyptian in diaspora in France

Inge Meesak
Estonia

Nondumiso Hlophe
Kingdom of Eswatini
Discover the Governance cluster’s pilot project
Peace and Security, including Prevention Violent Extremism
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European and African interests are strongly intertwined when it comes to peace and security. Terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organised crimes, such as trafficking in human beings, as well as more traditional threats to peace and stability (intra-state conflicts, local conflicts over resources, electoral violence, armed robbery and piracy etc.), all constitute symptoms of deeper structural instability and fragility. SDG16 is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.

Imrana Buba
Nigeria

Antoine Delens
Belgium

Julie Feremans
Belgium

Oyewole Oginni
Nigeria
Oyewole currently works as a researcher at the Center for Development Researcher (ZEF), Bonn, and he is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Bonn, Germany. His ongoing doctoral thesis focuses on ‘the everyday life of the displaced families in the frontline cities of the Lake Chad Basin.’ He holds MSc Degrees in Governance and Regional Integration, and Forensic Science (Criminal Investigation), and Pg. Diploma (ongoing) in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Previously, Oyewole was one of the 36 fellows under AU-EU Youth Plug-in Initiative (AUEU YPII) who participated in the development of proposal that formed the six clusters of the AUEU YCH. He has also served as the Senior Correspondent, Deputy Director and Director of the Africa Division of the World Peace (OWP, Canada), engaged more than 1000 youths on peacebuilding. Oyewole later became the Director of the Inside Africa, a quarterly OWP Magazine and Report on peace and conflict prevention initiatives across Africa. He worked as an EFHR Fellow at the Common Ground Centre (Kenya) on “international human rights policy and practice on religious intolerance and discrimination” and supported the crowdfunding for Syria victims. Other capacities in which he has served include Endowment Fund Officer (Kalube Consult Ltd, Uganda-Cameroon), international election observer (Carter Centre, USA, in Kenya’s General Elections), Junior researcher (West Africa Institute, Praia, Cabo Verde) and Research consultant (CWhaD, Nigeria). Oyewole is a recipient of the DAAD-EPOS (Germany), AfDB research fund via PAU (AUC), African Union Scholarship (AUC), ANAN Award (Nigeria), EFHR Research Fellowship (CGC) and an alumnus of the Leading in the Public Life, Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, UCT (South Africa), amongst others.

Saad Mbingah
Tanzania
Discover the Peace & Security cluster’s pilot project
Digital Cluster
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All of the Hub pilot projects have a strong digital dimension. The Digital Cluster will support the CSOs in the implementation of the pilot projects from a technological standpoint, hand-in-hand with the youth of the other clusters. The Digital Cluster will bring their expertise in project management, design of online tools and online data management and many other cutting edge digital skills tohelp reinforce the work done by the other clusters and CSOs.

Hagar Ahmed
Egypt
She previously interned with EdTech startup Marj3, and Startup Without boarders for Refugee entrepreneurs and got selected by the Egyptian Scholar Lab working on a research called (Predicting Software Defects in Open Source Systems."). Hager completed a fellowship in at the iRights.Lab GmbH in Berlin. Her motto in life is: “I want us to ask ourselves every day, how are we using technology to make a real difference in people’s lives” President Barack Obama.

Andreas Holzinger
Germany

Denis Odhiambo
Kenya
With an educational background in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering (BSc. Aerospace), Advanced Robotics (MSc.), and Automatic Control (MSc.); and a career that started off with the world’s largest aerospace companies, he made an interesting detour into software system design, and later hybrid system architecture (large-scale Embedded Systems, IoT, Cloud Infrastructure, and App development and integration).
In his roughly 10-year career, he has worked in various industries – spanning Aerospace (aircraft design), semiconductor (microchip) manufacturing, (countrywide) traffic system design and management, and consumer electronics design and manufacturing. Nonetheless, his focus has always been on leading the development of cutting-edge technical solutions, while giving the end products a human face.

Adegoke Temitayo
Nigeria
In 2013, he leads a number of state-wide projects in Ogun state, helping over 5000 individuals get access to computer education, a get that earned him a state honours award from the State Government. He has since then been leading Tech teams at Euidem Technologies, creating hundreds of digital solutions to specific needs. Temitayo is a lead trainer for Google Nigeria on CS projects for kids, a country ambassador on Africa Code Week, and a delivery partner to the Lagos State Government's Ministry of Education on CodeLagos, a project aimed at training 1 million people how to code. Temitayo is an avid project manager with a special interest in research and business process development.

Tatiana Houndjo
Benin
Tatiana, who grew up in Benin, is a young graduate with three years experiences in technology (web development, network and information system). She advocates for girls and women’s inclusion in technologies fields through communities engagement, driven by her belief in youth especially girls empowerment through digital literacy, leadership and entrepreneurship spirit as the key for the future.
Tatiana is experienced in Virtualization and data storage, Switching and routing, SAN, LAN and WAN, Network services on Linux and Windows, IT risk management, Cybersecurity, Database administration, Web development , digital marketing.
Her work and dedication to sharing her knowledge has led her to be named as a 2020 Harvard Crossroads Young Leaders and be selected as a European Development Days Young Leader in 2019.

Salmane Tamo
Niger
He has had the chance to work with several institutions across the continent including MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank) in Mauritius, the African Leadership University in Rwanda, L'Agence Nationale pour la Société de l'Information in Niger, etc. These experiences have strengthened his belief in the power of technology to solve some of the most pressing needs across the African continent and the world at large.

Annette Sagri
Estonia
Previously, she has been a senior manager at TransferWise, one of Europe’s most successful FinTechs with a mission to make finance transparent and accessible to all, as well as contributed to UN reporting on SDGs relating to e-government in Estonia. Annette holds a degree in Hispanic studies, and has been a team lead in AIESEC, the largest youth-run organisation, empowering young people to make a positive impact on society.
Alumni
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These outstanding people served as AU EU Youth Hub Young Experts in the past. All our gratitude goes to them along with best wishes for their futures.

Aryana Francesca Urbani
Italy

Audrey Giacomini
France

Yonas-Sebastian Fall
France
Yonas holds a Master in Management. He has seven years of working experience in sustainable investment, consulting and impact evaluation. He has almost five years of experience in a senior management position, overseeing consulting and research projects in various fields such as migration, education, private sector development and sustainability.

Martin Dethier
Belgium
Martin qualified as a lawyer in Belgium and has experience in working embedded within the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Djibouti. His expertise embraces legal technical assistance, policy advice, legal reform, public-private partnerships as well as legal capacity building. He writes for a monthly EU law journal.
He has built his experience with youth engagement with associations promoting education for all and youth participation in political debates, as well as with student representation.

Safi Sabuni
Congolese (Democratic Republic) in diaspora in Sweden

Lusanda Magwape
South Africa

Daphne Van Dam
The Netherlands

Ioannis Papgeorgiou
Greece
Ioannis holds Bachelor degrees in Electrical Engineering and Technical Education, a Master of Science in Environmental and Resource Management and a Masters in Geographical Information Systems. His experience focuses on renewable energy, cartography, sustainability, corporate & social responsibility, and green finance. For the last three years he has been working for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) across Europe, Africa and the Middle East on renewable energy, environment and energy security.

Hatoumata Magassa
Mali - France

Anaïs Amazit
Algeria - France
Anaïs holds a Bachelor in Applied Foreign Languages and a Master in Management. She has developed a vast experience on social and solidarity economy and solar energy. She currently serves as the Regional Coordinator Africa for a civil society organisation, where she is responsible for the construction and implementation of two vocational training centers in solar energy, for illiterate or semi-literate rural women.

Mathias Leopoldie
Greece

Varpu Vasko
Finland
Varpu holds a MsC in Environmental Studies with a minor in Development studies. Her employment and volunteering history encompasses several areas, ranging from WASH, waste management, smart cities, ecology, energy, ethical trade and adult education. Varpu grew her experience throughout Europe, Africa and East Asia. She has worked as the Product Manager on energy and eco efficiency services in an international facility services company for the past two years.

Sesame Mogotsi
Botswana

Yasmine Ouirhane
Moroccan in diaspora in Italy
Yasmine is the newly recognized “Young European of the Year 2019”. She is a member of the European Youth Advocacy Team at the United Network of Young Peacebuilders and she was recently named EDD Young Leader by the European Commission.
She is also an award-winning fellow at WomenDeliver and a member of the Gender Innovation Agora at UN Women. Since the age of 16, she worked in underprivileged neighbourhoods of France, committed to address inequalities and promote social inclusion. Last year, she helped organising the YO!Fest, gathering 8000 youth at the European Parliament and she managed to sponsor a delegation of underprivileged students with a migrant background coming from France and Italy.

Etienne Reusner
Germany
Etienne is a Franco-German citizen and holds a Master of Arts in International Relations and European Diplomacy from the College of Europe, completed with a Dissertation on EU-AU Relations for Development & Cooperation and Peace and Security. He also holds a Master in International and European Governance and a diploma from Sciences Po Lille, France with a special focus on conflict and development studies. Since 2017, he gained strong experience in engaging youth, local partners and stakeholders in peace building in Côte d’Ivoire through the organization “Interpeace”. In his work, Etienne contributes to local conflict management, to the reintegration of delinquent youth in the Ivorian school system and to support local governance processes. He has also contributed to draft the Report “Youth Speak Out!”, in favour of the participation of youth in peace and security processes in the Ivory Coast and the progress report of UNSCR 2250.

Najma Ahmed Hussein
France - Somalia
Najma Ahmed Hussein is a program development specialist passionate about youth inclusion, knowledge management and strategic communications. Formerly with IOM in Niger, she worked on the development of the Niger Community Cohesion Initiative, a programme aimed at reducing the threats of violent extremism and armed conflict through small-scale intersectoral activities implemented in the regions of Diffa, Tillaberi and Agadez. A fervent advocate for knowledge management, Najma worked with IOM's Somalia Stabilization Initiative to collect best practices and lessons learned after three years of programming and more than 230 projects implemented in Mogadishu, South West and Jubaland States. A passionate advocate for access to information, she designed a 4-month radio campaign with the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Jubaland State to increase rural women's access to information on government services. Her interest in peacebuilding led her to travel to Morocco, Egypt, Qatar and Azerbaijan with UNAOC to examine practices to foster youth resilience to violent extremism and build sustainable peace.
Events
Africa – Europe Week 2022
Africa-Europe Youth Meet-Up
The Africa-Europe Youth Meet-Up engaged African, European and diaspora Youth at large to exchange knowledge, ideas and solutions towards tackling global issues.
During a series of online panels our young experts discussed the results of UNICEF’s public Youth Consultation. We hosted Jane Goodale, Enrico Letta, Bobi Wine, Ilwad Elman and many other great speakers.
Paris Peace Forum
The Hub also had a dedicated event with participation from EU’s DEVCO Director General, AU’s High Representative for the Sahel, the President of the UN General Assembly, the International Trade Centre’s Executive Director, and Mo Ibrahim from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
More about us
Our Projects
Learn more about our 10 millions worth pilot projets
Our History
Learn more about us, our achievements
Our Partners
See the differents organisations/institutions we partner with.