14th Bled Forum on Europe EUROPE FOR AFRICA & AFRICA FOR WORLD

1. Youth and Innovation for Repositioning of Africa in the WorldMr Miroslav Polzer PhD, Secretary General IAAI &Mr Jean Paul Brice Affana, head of Youth programs IAAI (via skype) 14th Bled Forum on Europe EUROPE FOR AFRICA & AFRICA FOR WORLD Ljubljana, Slovenia, 7.- 8. May 2013

2. Content of the Presentation About IAAI Africa-Europe Relations in the Context of Global Challenges The Need for Innovation & the Rio+20 Issues Cluster on Innovation The Challenge: Connecting via modern information and communication technologies African Youth with a Global Action Network addressing with market based mechanisms effectively global challenges in a mutually beneficial way. Central Role of UN System (MDGs, Rio+20 Outcome implementation, post 2015 regime) and the need for glocal Sustainable Development governance Systems Engineering IAAI “GloCha” Conceptual Innovations (Glocal public goods market formation, Global Challenges Centers, GloCha ICT Grid) case studies: African Youth Engagement, Empowerment and Participation in Addressing Global Challenges (Jean Paul) Future Plans and Cooperation Potentials:

3. About IAAI • “International Association for the Advancement of Innovative Approaches to Global Challenges IAAI” www.glocha.info is a not-for profit private association, which has been established under Austrian law of associations by an international group of scientists, science managers and futures studies experts in March 2007. • IAAI main objective is to explore and promote systemic innovation regarding resource mobilization of global civil society for effective global governance in support of the work of United Nation System.

4. Context I: EU- Africa Partnership: The Joint Strategy focuses on moving: • beyond development cooperation, by opening up the Africa-EU dialogue and cooperation to issues of joint concern and interest such as jobs and trade; • beyond Africa by moving away from the traditional focus on purely African development matters, towards effectively addressing global challenges such as migration, climate change, peace and security; • beyond fragmentation, in supporting Africa’s aspirations to find trans-regional and continental responses to some of the most important challenges; • beyond institutions, in working towards a people-centred partnership, ensuring better participation of African and European citizens.

5. Context II:Global Community does not achieve agreed goals! • GEO 5 • The fifth edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5) assessed 90 of the most-important environmental goals and objectives and found that • significant progress had only been made in four. !!!!!!!!!http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2688&ArticleID=9158 • & • Weak achievement of MDGs in African context • - > New Thinking is Needed!!! • > Conceptual and Institutional Innovations are Needed!

6. IAAI & Rio+20 Issues Cluster on Innovation

7. Orienting Innovation Systems towards Grand Challenges and the Roles that FTA Can Play Effie Amanatidou Visiting Research Associate / PhD researcher, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, UK

10. Africa‘s Youth – A Great Pool of Talent and Social Energy Africa is the world’s youngest continent, as the proportion of youth among the region’s total population is higher than in any other continent. In 2010, 70 percent of the region’s population was under the age of 30, and slightly more than 20 per cent were young people between the ages of 15 to 24. The socioeconomic conditions of young Africans have improved in recent years, but not considerably. There has been an increase in school enrolment over the past 20 years, and the gender gap in education has narrowed, however, young Africans continue to face major difficulties in the realms of higher education, employment, health, and participation in decision-making processes. African youth have the potential to be a great impetus for Africa’s development, provided that appropriate investments in health and human capital are made. However, if youth issues are not addressed, and if high rates of youth unemployment and under-employment persist, Africa’s development could be negatively affected. Source: UN Division for Social Development- Youth Directorate: Regional Overview: Youth in Africa http://social.un.org/youthyear/docs/Regional%20Overview%20Youth%20in%20Africa.pdf

11. IAAI/GloCha Conceptual Innovations: • Global Youth Music Contest (Jean Paul) • Establishing a market for local and global public goods (Inge Kaul and Pedro Conceição (eds.), The New Public Finance- Responding to Global Challenges) -> micro social entrepreneurship promotion • Global Challenges Centers: connecting local level sustainable development action with a UN oriented global network of financial resources, knowledge and social energy • GloCha Grid- ICT infrastructure for multistakeholder sustainable development resource management (in the context of UN goals and programs)

13. IAAI Conceptualnnovation: GloCal Public Goods market

14. Future Plans and Cooperation Potentials Development of project initiatives with ICPE, CeGD, etc. in connection with UN agencies in Vienna (UNIDO, Sustainable Energy for All Office Vienna, ..) building on expertise and connecting potentials from Central and Southeast Europe (e.g. RCC) with African potentials (e.g. ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE)

15. Conclusion Without African Youth as partners in addressing sustainable development and other global goals on local level (= provision of glocal public goods) there can be no just, peaceful and sustainable world UN system - we as humanity - will win or lose our quest for a better world in Africa – therefore events like 14th Bled Forum on Europe are important and valuable.

16. Thank You for your attention! Looking forward to a fruitful discussion and cooperation! Contact: polzer@glocha.info www.glocha.info