According to the Secretary-General’s Special Report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), only 12% of SDGs are on course. The 2023 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) will be an opportunity to strengthen the commitment of Member States to advance targeted policies and actions for accelerating the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
On the African continent, expanding access to digital infrastructure and building digital skills is critical to reaching all development goals. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) transforms industries ranging from agriculture to education, in parallel, there is increasing demand for expertise in digital skills — from foundational digital literacy to highly complex skills to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence. The World Bank Group estimates that 230 million jobs in Africa will require basic digital skills by 2030. Citizens, and especially youth, must be equipped with the right skill- and mind-sets to participate effectively in the economies of the future.
In this context, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) are convening a series of expert dialogues among policymakers and development partners to identify best practice and concrete policy actions to accelerate the development of digital skills in Africa.
The initiative focuses on three core themes:
- Technical and Soft Skills in the Digital Era;
- Re-imagining Technical and Vocational Education and Training for the Fourth Industrial Revolution; and
- Disinformation, Data Management, and Citizen Skills.
Building on the outcomes of these expert dialogues, KAS-IOE-ACET will convene a fourth expert dialogue during HLPF 2023 to chart the path towards accelerated digital transformation in Africa. The event will discuss how policy recommendations for enhancing digital skills in Africa can be taken forward and translated into concrete action, and what role can be envisaged for Member States, the United Nations, civil society and the private sector. A policy brief summarizing the key findings of the dialogue series will be circulated among participants in advance and will form the basis of this discussion.