I dream of an Ethiopia, of an Africa that is free of hunger, a world where no mother should bury their child because of hunger or worst still because… - Sahle-Work Zewde

Despite many obstacles facing young people, they are always hopeful and optimistic that they will be able to enter the job market and make significant contributions to their society; and they are placing increasing importance in creating their own opportunities and becoming entrepreneurs, including in growing areas, such as green technologies.

As you are best placed to know, young people are rarely consulted in meaningful ways during the creation of strategies. Nor are they identified as a major group experiencing unemployment and poverty. Few of the action plans link youth-focused strategies to specific targets and budget outlays or regard the youth situation as a major cross-cutting issue.

I grew up in a family of four girls. I'm the firstborn. But I had a very amazing family especially my father, who has always told us that there is nothing that a woman or a girl cannot do. So this has been my motto all my life and in whatever I did, by the way, I was the first woman to do this, the first woman to do that, so I was daring.