We Are Not The Future: We Are Now
Africa's youth are done being a talking point.
They are the majority of the continent and the minority in every room that matters. They have been told for years that they are the future, then handed a present with no jobs, no capital and no seat at the table. So they are doing the maths. Stay and build, or pack up and leave? Gen Z are frustrated with politicians, will not wait for the formal economy, and would rather launch a business, chase a visa or take to the streets than sit through another promise. This session puts the latest African Youth Survey on the table: tens of thousands of young voices and one of the most comprehensive reads of youth opinion on the continent. Are Africa's leaders ready to share power with the generation that will inherit it, or only to applaud it? What does a continent lose when it keeps telling its youth to be patient?
Speakers
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Ivor IchikowitzIndustrialist, Philanthropist and Thought Leader, Ichikowitz Family FoundationIvor Ichikowitz
Industrialist, Philanthropist and Thought Leader, Ichikowitz Family Foundation
Ivor Ichikowitz is a South African entrepreneur, philanthropist and Chairman of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation. He is also the founder of the African Oral History Archive and the commissioner of the African Youth Survey.
He has been recognized twice as one of Africa’s 100 most influential people in recognition for his investments (business and philanthropic) in the future of the continent. For more than more than three decades he has built a number of successful businesses on four continents in energy, mining, retail, tourism, real estate, aviation, defence technologies and aerospace manufacturing.
His professional experience has informed his interest in African industrial development, innovation, skills, economic opportunity and the importance of building the continent’s capacity to determine its own future.
Through the Foundation, he has extended this commitment beyond business, investing in initiatives that promote education, preserve Africa’s heritage, support conservation and amplify the voices of African communities.
A central focus of his philanthropic work is the belief that young Africans must be understood as active participants in shaping the continent, rather than simply as beneficiaries of development programmes or leaders of a distant future. The African Youth Survey reflects this conviction: it seeks to create an evidence base that brings young Africans’ perspectives into conversations about policy, investment, leadership and Africa’s place in the world.
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Ilwad ElmanChief Operating Officer, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre (EPC)Ilwad Elman
Chief Operating Officer, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre (EPC)
Ilwad Elman is Chief Operating Officer of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, a women-led Somali organization advancing peacebuilding, human rights, and sustainable development. Over 16 years, she has led responses to conflict spanning disarmament, reintegration, mediation, mental health, and economic empowerment. She co-founded Sister Somalia, the country’s first rape crisis centre, and advanced women’s leadership and gender-responsive security sector reform. Her community-based approaches have shaped national policy and international practice. She links recovery with long-term opportunity through social enterprise, job creation, and partnerships spanning business, philanthropy, and the arts. Ilwad has advised two UN Secretaries-General, including on Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, and is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader serving on its Global Future Council on Nature and Security. Her honours include the Right Livelihood Award, Harvard’s Gleitsman International Activist Award, the Hessian Peace Prize, and an honorary doctorate from SOAS.