Do you know that Africa is the youngest continent and is Rotary’s biggest opportunity to invest in Youth? Youth populations are growing quickly in Sub-Saharan Africa, with its youth population expected to expand from 1/5 of global youth today to 1/3 at mid-century and 1/2 by 2100. Despite being the home to so many of the world’s youth, Africa is significantly underrepresented in Rotary Youth Exchange. (Youth exchanges from Africa skew to South Africa and Namibia.)To address this, EEMA – the Rotary Youth Exchange association for Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa – is promoting an initiative called The Power of One. The goal is to provide additional support to African districts which are certified for Outbound-Only exchanges. For example, districts covering Algeria-Morocco-Tunisia, Nigeria, Tanzania-Uganda, Ethiopia-Kenya and Comoros-Djibouti-Madagascar-Mauritius-Seychelles.
We are seeking a Rotarian champion for this initiative within D7820. The critical first step to this project would be government relations – i.e. getting local schools, provincial education departments and/or Global Affairs Canada onside. (We need the international student high school tuition fee waived.) If the challenge and opportunity of enabling African youth to go on a Rotary Youth Exchange appeals to you, please contact RotaryD7820-Youth@outlook.com for more information.