Global Gateway: EU launches 17 new regional programs to boost youth mobility and skills in Africa
The European Union has recently launched 17 new regional programs, most notably including ‘The Team Europe Initiative on Opportunity-Driven Skills and Vocational Education and Training’ and the ‘Africa-Europe Youth Academy’, aiming to boost youth mobility and skills in Africa.
The 17 new regional programs under the flagship of Youth Mobility for Africa were launched by European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen at the Global Gateway High-Level Event on Education in Brussels last week. “The European Union’s Global Gateway investments in education are focused on enhancing access to quality education and skills training for all in an equitable way,” Commissioner Urpilainen said. “Education and skills are key to combating inequalities and to creating jobs and prosperity.”
At the event in Brussels, the EU brought together the global education community to take stock of the Global Gateway education investments so far and mobilize partners, as well as new investments ahead of the ‘United Nations Summit of the Future’ that will take place in New York City on 22-23 September. Commissioner Urpilainen used the occasion to sign 17 programs totaling €245 million, including, for example, support to girls’ education in Zambia and support to research and learning mobility in Nigeria, highlighting the EU’s commitment to empowering African youth with education.
Among those attending the event was also the Permanent Secretary at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who signed an agreement for a transformative initiative, which secured a groundbreaking opportunity for six Nigerian universities to access funding under the EU’s Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme. These six projects, each supported by €1.8 million from EU funding, aim to enhance learning mobility opportunities for students, trainees, and staff across the continent, focusing on the development of high-level green and digital skills.
