Why youth should be the 7th Region of the African Union
More than 400 million Africans are under the age of 25. Yet when the heads of state and government gathered last week in Addis Ababa for the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, many of those young people watched a summit that spoke of investment, infrastructure and development while saying little about the jobs, education and inclusion they demand every day.
The summit was not without achievement. Its deliberations addressed historical justice, representation, infrastructure and security, and those accomplishments deserve recognition because they reflect the collective will of the continent. The gathering also marked a change of leadership, as Joao Lourengo, President of the Republic of Angola, handed over the Chairpersonship of the African Union to Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi, at the AU Headquarters on February 14, 2026.
Still, amid these achievements a vital question remains: what about the youth? The agenda focused on financial and natural capital, yet it overlooked what may be Africa’s most important asset, its young people. For the millions who listened, the summit’s essential issues did not translate into the concrete answers they were waiting to hear.
Across the continent, young people have not stayed silent. Movements throughout 2025 and into 2026 have voiced aspirations that should be understood as contributions rather than threats. These movements reject corruption, demand opportunities and insist on being heard. They are not anti-African; they are profoundly pro-African, holding the conviction that the continent can work for them.
The human cost of leaving youth out of the conversation is clearest where security is concerned. The summit discussed pressing security challenges, but those challenges cannot be separated from the lives of young people. Young people recruited into armed groups are often driven by unemployment, exclusion and hopelessness, circumstances that make them vulnerable to exploitation. Displaced young women in conflict zones are not mere statistics; they are citizens whose futures have been stolen. Including young people in peace processes and giving them economic stakes improves security outcomes. Connecting discussions of security with youth unemployment would allow the continent to tackle root causes rather than symptoms.
There is a precedent for widening the circle of who counts inside the Union. Years ago, the AU recognised the diaspora as the 6th Region of the continent, acknowledging the contributions of Africans living abroad. But that recognition must also confront a harder truth faced by many African families: mass displacement. Many left not by choice but as economic refugees, seeking opportunities for education, healthcare and employment that were not available at home.
The diaspora model, on this view, must evolve beyond remittances. It should focus on transforming the conditions that drive young people to leave in the first place. That means building educational institutions so strong that studying abroad becomes a choice rather than a necessity, and creating dynamic economies in which emigrating becomes an adventure rather than an escape. If space can be created for those separated by geography, the argument runs, why not for those separated by generation? Institutionalising the voices of Africans under 25, and recognising youth as a constituency, would affirm their crucial role in shaping the future.
The case rests on a conviction that extends the AU’s existing vision rather than replacing it: young people are essential to Africa’s future, and they deserve not just recognition but meaningful inclusion. It is a conviction the diaspora stands ready to support.
Oliver Reginald Tambo captured the stakes in words that resonate long after the summit’s closing: “A country, a movement, a person that does not value its youth and its children does not deserve its future.” Those words serve as both a warning and a guide. A community that invests in its youth builds a future worthy of its name.
The 39th AU Summit laid essential groundwork. The hope now is that at the 40th summit, the question “What about the Youth?” is answered not just by voices but by the presence of young people at the decision-making table, recognised as the 7th Region of the Union and destined to lead. Africa’s greatest strength is its people, and investing in its youth means planting seeds for future generations. The call is simple: build for those who come after us, joining the continuum that connects the ancestors with the unborn. We are all bridges, linking the past with the future.
Ambassador Abdou Samb is a Senegalese engineer, mathematician, European Commission expert on digital transformation and honorary Ambassador of the Panafrican Parliament for diaspora affairs. He is also the President of A2S International and the Abdou Samb Foundation. The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media.