Young African Leaders Meet in Addis Abeba to Translate Policy Ideas into Action for Peace and Development

Young leaders from across Africa gathered this week in Addis Ababa for the Sixth Session of the African Youth Leadership Diplomatic Conference, a high-profile event held in the African Union’s headquarters city. The conference, themed “From Policy to Action: Accelerating African-Led Solutions for Regional Peace and Stability,” aimed to position youth as active architects of practical solutions to the continent’s most pressing challenges.
The week-long event brought together a diverse group of participants, including emerging youth changemakers, seasoned diplomats, government officials, regional leaders, representatives from international organisations, and development experts. This widespread participation reaffirmed the conference’s emphasis on intergenerational collaboration and the need to harness young people’s energy and innovation in developing and implementing policies that promote peace, inclusive governance, and sustainable development.
Agnes Sia Bangalie, CEO of Salone Intercontinental Youth Connect, led a delegation from Sierra Leone. Her delegation participated in intensive panel discussions, technical workshops, and networking events with peers from across Africa, where they shared country-specific experiences and proposed solutions tailored to local realities. The topics covered included youth empowerment and education, as well as gender equality, child development, and unemployment reduction strategies.
“The presence of so many young leaders, policymakers, and practitioners in one forum is a powerful reminder that young people across Africa are not just tomorrow’s leaders, but active participants in change today,” said Agnes Sia Bangalie. “We are working together to create solutions that will shape our continent’s future.” Her remarks emphasised the conference’s overall message: youth voices must be central to policy design and implementation, rather than simply consulted.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation of forward-thinking policy proposals created by youth participants. These proposals prioritised tangible goals such as increasing access to high-quality education, creating job opportunities, advancing inclusive governance, and promoting sustainable development practices. Many of the proposed interventions were acknowledged by delegates and experts as scalable and capable of influencing national and regional policy frameworks if given the necessary political will and resources.
Aside from formal sessions, the conference encouraged meaningful exchanges between young leaders, strengthening continental networks. The agenda included opportunities for partnership building, mentorship, and capacity enhancement, which provided participants with practical skills for championing initiatives in their own communities. Technical workshops covered implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy, and how to get stakeholder buy-in, all to close the gap between policy ideas and concrete action.
For participating countries like Sierra Leone, the conference was a significant step toward institutionalising youth participation in diplomacy and government. Delegates returned home with not only recommendations, but also contacts and collaborative agreements that can be turned into programs, community projects, and policy advocacy initiatives.
Organisers and attendees emphasised that the true measure of success will be the extent to which conference outcomes are implemented in the field. To that end, participants have advocated for follow-up mechanisms, ongoing mentorship, and platforms that allow youth-led proposals to be piloted and scaled across national boundaries.
As the Sixth Session came to a close, delegates left Addis Ababa with renewed energy and a shared commitment to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity throughout Africa. The conference was a clear affirmation of Africa’s youth’s growing influence — not as passive recipients of development, but as active participants and leaders in the continent’s transformation.