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The OECD and the EC are inviting individual teachers and schools to submit case studies about their strategies, practices and achievements in promoting entrepreneurship in schools and VET. Participation in the Call requires a submission of an abstract of 1-2 pages by email to Joseph.Tixier@oecd.org indicating in the subject line "Entrepreneurship360- Call for case studies". Deadline for submission is 30 April 2014.

""Youth employment and hunger are two key issues that have been impacted by the economic crisis. This is particularly true for youth living in developing countries, representing 85% of the world youth. In an attempt to address these issues, the Global Youth Innovation Network, GYIN, has initiated its second Global Youth Summit called the 2016 Youth Agribusiness, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship Summit on Innovation (YALESI 2016). The summit will prioritise young people's needs, considering their developmental needs, and including underserved populations, such as girls, to an effective and inclusive employment strategy."

"On April 25-26, the AYA Forum is being organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with Partners in GFAR: CTA, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the African Agribusiness Incubation Network (AAIN). About 250 young agripreneurs from across Africa, as well as institutional and business partners, are expected to attend. As a pre-event to the AYA Forum, CTA will run, on, a workshop entitled Accelerating Youth Agriculture Entrepreneurship Using ICTs. This workshop is designed for partners including development organisations, venture capitalists, young start-up companies, farmer organisations and representatives of national entrepreneurship programmes."

Agribusiness and entrepreneurship are two critical areas which have a strong potential to increase employment opportunities for youth and to boost economies in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Similarly, the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is modernising the agricultural sector and providing more opportunities for youth. In particular, young farmers who apply ICT tools and skills to their farming businesses generally have higher yields, incomes and social status.

"An increasing number of young innovators and entrepreneurs in developing countries now develop ICT for agriculture solutions to strengthen agri-food systems in their respective countries, and to provide employment and livelihood opportunities for themselves and other young people."

Increasing agricultural productivity in developing countries and promoting youth employment and entrepreneurship are important recommendations of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play an important role. Young entrepreneurs using ICT innovations are particularly suited to contribute to increased agricultural productivity and sustainability given their inventiveness, energy and capacity to take risks.

"Weak linkages between Tertiary Agricultural Education(TAE) institutions and business enterprises is stifling entrepreneurship and economic development in Africa. This theme dominated discussions during the international Agribusiness Education Fair currently underway at the World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. The three-day Fair, whose objective to improve Agribusiness teaching, research and practice through stronger linkages between Training/research institutions and the private sector' brings together academicians, the private sector, International Non-Governmental Organizations, policy makers, students and entrepreneurs drawn from across Africa. "

Sent: 2014-05-20 13:49 #1 Subject: Successful initiatives to curb youth unemployment in Africa From: UNESCO-UNEVOC [unevoc@unesco.org] Dear e-Forum members, We are happy to share with you four videos - published by the UNESCO Office in Dakar - that showcase successful initiatives of technical and vocational training projects that give youth a better chance to find decent work. The videos focus on innovative projects in Benin, Nigeria and Senegal, which have proven effective in providing youth with skills and competences in demand. The series of the videos present: The Songhai Centre in Benin is a sustainable micro-enterprise that trains young Africans. It is considered a best practice model for rural development, sustainable development, employment and training for young people, and the self-financing of business creation. http://youtu.be/Z4K68WYtqXg The recognition of skills acquired in informal training in Senegal is an initiative that cater for the numerous young people who are being trained in the informal sector, such as car mechanics, tailors etc. The aim of the initiative is to put in place structures that allow for this training to be recognized at the same level as formal training. http://youtu.be/6RBSh5HtJgk Auchi Polytechnic in Nigeria is an Institute that facilitates the integration into the formal sector of some 30,000 graduates every year. Some years ago, a CEDAP village, which is center for entrepreneurship development, was created within the Polytechnic. Students are equipped with necessary skills in areas such as fish farming, carpentry, making of soap, shoes and pottery. http://youtu.be/NkievLtALug Sectoral centres in Senegal: public and private partnership are the result of a public/private partnership, which has proven efficient to provide training based a competency-based approach.It's currently present in three different areas. http://youtu.be/Hm_sD_-2pZw Best regards, UNESCO-UNEVOC

" Youths, farmers and other actors along agricultural value chains require training to achieve the scale and scope of agricultural development that will transform the continent and make it food secure as well as reduce poverty. However, the provision of agricultural skills development and vocational training in Africa has been largely inadequate across the value chain resulting in losses - both in productivity and potential income. To address this, the NEPAD Agency's Agriculture Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) Programme was developed in order to promote technical vocational education and training in the agricultural sector. The ultimate goal is to strengthen TVET in Africa's agriculture education system in order to deliver the desired numbers and competency levels of a skilled work force. This will ensure optimal productivity levels across the agriculture value chains and open up more opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship."

"We, at GFAR and CGIAR, are committed to integrate, stimulate and mentor the involvement of youth in all of our collective programs. At GCARD3, the Third Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development, we are taking any opportunity to live up to that commitment. We want to use the upcoming GCARD3 global event to pilot a number of innovative projects and approaches. One of these projects is "YAP", the Youth Agripreneurs Project. "YAP" is a pilot project targeting young agricultural entrepreneurs or "agripreneurs"."