Description

The Africa-Europe Youth Academy (AEYA) is a flagship initiative of the European Union, funded under the Global Gateway package “Youth Mobility for Africa,” aimed at strengthening the leadership, mobility, and engagement of young people (aged 18–30) in sub-Saharan Africa. Led by a consortium headed by Expertise France with support from AICS and partner universities, AEYA combines grants, capacity building, academic mobility (including the expanded Erasmus+ program), youth spaces, hackathons, and entrepreneurship support to create local leadership multipliers and lasting bridges between African and European stakeholders. The program specifically targets inclusion (with 50% of participants being young women) and vulnerable youth.

Objectives

• Strengthen youth leadership Develop leadership skills, advocacy, and local action capacity. • Build bridges between Africa and Europe Facilitate mobility, academic exchanges, and transcontinental networking. • Consolidate youth spaces Support the creation/strengthening of local "Spaces for Youth" (infrastructure, capacity building, governance). • Foster entrepreneurship and employability Support young entrepreneurs, hackathons, and incubation programs for the creation of sustainable businesses.