The Youth Declaration on Transforming Education states that education is our primary source of hope and resolution in a world teeming with multiple tumultuous crises**.** Thus, to survive and thrive in planetary peace and righteous equality, we must first transform education.
HSSN Africa understands that it has a role to play in creating an education system that is fully accessible and inclusive, one that centers on the needs of girls and young women, refugees, persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ persons, people of color, indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable and marginalized groups.
In many sub-Saharan African countries, up to half of young people ages 15 to 19 lack foundation skills, often because they had never attended or dropped out of school before gaining basic literacy or numeracy.
<aside> 💡 In eastern Africa, 37% of girls and 32% of boys of lower secondary-school age are out-of-school, and in Niger, 83% of girls and 74% of boys are not in school. Some leave school to work in low-skill jobs where the possibility of advancement is limited, and national education systems provide little opportunity to gain these critical skills in the future.
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These low chances put young people at risk of unemployment and underemployment, which are major drivers of poverty.
Thus, equipping youths with the knowledge and skills that would make them globally competitive and suitable for the future of work and providing gainful employment and decent work should be of priority.
HSSN Africa will work with stakeholders to promote safe and secure working environments, as well as development-oriented policies that would support industrialization, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.