The AGYO Board: a participatory approach to programme development

The African-German Youth Office (AGYO) Board advises the AGYO on programme development strategy. Consisting of African and German experts from various organisations and institutions, alongside representatives of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Engagement Global (EG) and the Senior Expert Service (SES), it is a true example of the participatory approach called for in the 2030 Agenda.

We cannot achieve a better world for all unless people from the global north and the global south are part of the transformation process and play an active role in shaping the social, economic and political environments in which they live. It is for this reason that participation is a cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs.

Participation and partnership-based collaboration are core principles of the African-German Youth Office’s two programmes as well. This is reflected in the fact that funding applications for the programmes can only be submitted jointly by a German and an African partner. So it is only logical for us to involve a range of stakeholders from Germany and African countries as we develop the programmes further - exactly the sort of participation the 2030 Agenda calls for.

Benefiting from a broad range of perspectives

The Board is made up of ten German members and ten members from African countries. They are experts who have a link to the AGYO and its two programmes and are part of vocational education or international youth work structures. In addition, the African members have been chosen to represent a wide range of regions, meaning that various viewpoints inform the work of developing the AGYO into the future - something from which the programmes benefit.

The Board meets at least once a year to consider topics of particular relevance to the programmes, such as what can be done to attract more young German professionals and businesses to the Team Works! programme. Other matters to be discussed are drawn from the AGYO’s evaluations and the recommendations for action they contain. Examples are the question of how the lessons learned from the Teams Up! pilot and accompanying projects can be made more usable for everyone, and how to illustrate more clearly the advantages for businesses that provide internships for international professionals.