African Union Holds Inaugural Annual Meeting for Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Focal Persons to Bolster Implementation of Continental Commitments

The African Union Commission’s Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (AUC-WGYD) successfully concluded its inaugural Annual Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Focal Persons (GYFP) Meeting, held from 7-8 October 2025 at the AUC Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The hybrid meeting convened designated GYFPs from across AUC Departments/Directorates, AU Organs, Institutions, and Offices, marking a crucial step towards strengthening institutional coordination and accelerating gender equality and youth empowerment across the Union.

The two-day meeting served as a critical platform to build the technical capacity of Focal Persons to effectively integrate gender and youth perspectives into all phases of policy formulation, programme implementation, and monitoring and evaluation across their respective areas of work.

In her opening remarks, on behalf of Ms. Prudence Ngwenya, Director of Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (WGYD),  Dr. Jeanne Flora Kayitesi, Acting Head of the Women and Gender Policy and Development Division, underscored the need for a coordinated institutional approach, noting that these efforts are firmly anchored in continental policy frameworks.

“To achieve the aspirations of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, particularly Aspiration 6 on an Africa whose development is people-driven, we must ensure that gender and youth mainstreaming is not an add-on, but a core component of our institutional DNA,” Dr. Kayitesi stated. “This commitment is guided by instruments such as the Maputo Protocol, the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, the African Youth Charter, the AU Strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) , and the African Plan of Action for Youth Empowerment (APAYE).”

Key discussions during the meeting focused on:

1. Policy Frameworks and AU Commitments: Reviewing the alignment of departmental work with the AU’s existing gender and youth frameworks and structures.
2. Implementation Capacity: Providing technical guidance on mainstreaming tools, including the introduction of the AU Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Scorecard for departmental performance tracking.
3. Coordination and Synergy: Defining a structured coordination mechanism between WGYD and the Focal Persons to align ongoing initiatives and enhance inter-departmental synergy.
4. Roadmap Development: Drafting a comprehensive roadmap for the Focal Persons’ reporting process, crucial for contributing input towards the annual AU Chairperson’s Report on Gender and Youth Mainstreaming.

The meeting directly addressed existing gaps in coordination, implementation, and monitoring, laying the groundwork for the forthcoming AU Gender and Youth Mainstreaming Strategy.

The AUC-WGYD reaffirms its dedication to working collaboratively with everybody to ensure that the AU achieves its targets, including the institutional commitment to achieve 50 percent women (50%) and 35 percent youth (35%) representation in the AU workforce.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).