Event Details

Matchmaking workshop for equitable growth and SDGs through youth empowerment

Date: 28 May 2019

Venue: Rome

Country: Italy

The matchmaking workshop titled “Empowering Youth for Equitable Growth in the Era of SDGs” was held at the Marinetti Room of Roma Eventi – Fontana di Trevi on 28th May 2019. The co-organizers of the matchmaking workshop were South-South Network for Public Service Innovation (SSN4PSI), a2i – innovate for all of the Government of Bangladesh, and Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. The matchmaking workshop took place at the Annual Conference on Decent Jobs for Youth. The workshop aimed to facilitate the participants by providing the opportunity that South-South Cooperation would play a key role in empowering youths for equitable growth in the era of Sustainable Development Goals. Exporting and importing of best practices and initiatives through the Matchmaking Methodology has the potential to achieve unprecedented leapfrogging in this area. It yielded to a total of 50 matchmaking opportunities among the participating countries and organizations in the workshop. As there is an increasing demand for underemployed and unemployed youths to be mainstreamed through developing their digital skills, 4IR-based future skills, (e.g., Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Analytics, and Robotic Process Automation) and entrepreneurial skills; this session put a specific focus on those issues. The matchmaking session reiterated the fact that investing in youth empowerment with the right lens is vital to unleash the agency and human potential that can lead to an equitable and sustainable future. Mr. Iqbal Hossain, Education Specialist of UNICEF Bangladesh moderated the event. Ms. Sukti Dasgupta, Chief, Employment and Labour Market Policies Branch, International Labour Office (ILO) gave the opening speech of the workshop. While delivering the speech, Ms. Sukti said, “The matchmaking workshop organized by the South-South Network for Public Service Innovation (SSN4PSI) provided an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning among governments, youth and civil society organizations, UN entities and other stakeholders to exchange good practices and explore collaboration opportunities in the context of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth.” Rights and Voices of Youth, Digital Skills and Jobs for Youth, Quality Apprenticeship, Youth Transitioning to the Formal Economy, Youth Entrepreneurship and Self-employment, The role of the Private Sector in Skills Development, Advancing youth employment related SDGs, 4IR-Based Future Skills Development, and South-South Cooperation to ensure decent jobs for Youth were addressed as the key points of discussion during the workshop.