What is life like for young people living in different SADC countries today? Do they share the same values? Can they interact freely beyond their countries’ borders? What differences are characteristic and what commonly shared strategies would they want to apply to turn challenges into opportunities?

The political institutions of the Southern African region and its official body – SADC – have a vast number of protocols and policy documents purporting to be positive for the economic, political, social and cultural development and integration of the region’s people. As the majority of the populace in SADC is below 35 years of age, the Southern African Youth Forum (SARYF) of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) decided to take a closer look at these policies and protocols during its annual conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, and discuss the challenges youth are currently facing today, as well as mapping out how to actively turn challenges into opportunities. Under the overarching theme of ‘Regionness’, the FES Alumni explored the different implications of living in a commonly shared regional space.

The region’s soaring unemployment, which predominantly affects the youth, and the consequential stalling of developmental progress, i.e. modernizing education systems or providing true political and economic participation for the younger generation in decision-making bodies, form a challenging background to the day-to-day realities of Southern African youth.

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