By Hamad Rashid
The press conference for the 4th edition of the International Youth Conference on Land Governance in Africa (CIGOFA 4) has been announced, and the key issues discussed in the edition at Arusha from the 20th to the 24th of this October have been highlighted.
CIGOFA is a platform dedicated to promoting land rights for young people in Africa, established by the Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA). The platform is being held in collaboration with various stakeholders, including Landesa, a non-governmental organization in Tanzania focusing on land rights for young men and women.
According to Augustine Nyakatoma a country director of Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA Tanzania) speaking at the Press Conference held online on October 10, 2024, “among of the aims of CIGOFA is to be a dialogue platform of young people to express the challenges on accessing the Land and to find out the concrete solution”
Responding to a question asked by journalist Hamad Rashid about, the source of the existing challenges in land ownership for young people, Eva Maria Anyango from the International Land Coalition said, it is a matter of the global system but also young people’s lack of confidence to take leadership positions in community and national levels, so that they can be part of solving the challenges they face.
The outreach director of Landesa Africa Dr. Monica Mhoja in the Conference told the journalists, “Access to land by young people is an issue that will end hunger and promote economic growth and development of the country”
However, CIGOFA4 will bring together more than 500 participants in the Conference, including various experts, decision-makers, activists, and young leaders to exchange best practices and propose sustainable solutions to land challenges.
The main theme of CIGOFA4 2024, is “Acceleration of Youth Land Rights” on Advancing Youth Land Rights in Africa to Build a Better Future.
Past CIGOFA achievements
According to Mr. Innocent Anthoine HOUEDJI Director of YILAA Africa, among CIGOFA’s achievements is the creation of an idea that led to the establishment, of the Data4Youth Land Access Project whereby the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will fund, a Project from a youth debate held at CIGOFA3 Last year, which will help them to get informed on how the Land question is bigger across the continent, so as they can find a concrete solution collectively for the future generation.
“Also, Creation of Youth and Land Multistakeholder Platform in Africa and Influencing the policy and decision-makers” added Mr. Innocent
During the introduction of the press conference a moderator, Khadija Mrisho from Landesa Tanzania said, United Nations data by 2008 it shows a total of 2.5 billion people in the world are youth, equal to 16% of the world’s population.
The current total world population is more than two billion via the World Population Clock: 8.2 Billion People (LIVE, 2024) – Worldometer (worldometers.info)