The industrialisation ministry in collaboration with the sports ministry and the National Youth Council will be hosting a two-day consultative workshop on the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.
The workshop takes place tomorrow and Friday at Mercure Hotel in Windhoek.
It takes place in partnership with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) continental secretariat, Youth for Tax Justice Network Africa, and with the support of the United Nations Development Programme and European Union Delegation to Namibia.
The meeting will bring together young people and women in business, government officials and youth leaders across the SADC region to, among others, galvanise action and mainstream youth voices towards a common voice on the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade and foster a deeper awareness of challenges faced by young entrepreneurs, producers and traders across the region.
The objective of the workshop is to further generate issues for inclusion in the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade and e-Commerce as well as to enhance access to economic opportunities for the youth at national and regional levels through sustainability in youth priority sectors.
It also aims to build skills and knowledge of the youth on key AfCFTA processes at national and regional levels; inform the negotiations on the AfCFTA Protocols on Women and Youth in Trade and e-Commerce; brainstorm and share information on gaps and opportunities for the youth in the AfCFTA process and how these can be harnessed.
It will foster deeper awareness of the challenges that youth entrepreneurs, producers and traders face when engaging in intra-regional trade and how these challenges can be effectively addressed.
Industrialisation minister Lucia Iipumbu will officiate.
The outcome and recommendations derived from the workshop will culminate in a report containing strong policy and programme recommendations that will inform the design of national policies and complementary measures to address and remove systematic barriers so that women and youth share in the gains of the AfCFTA agreement.