The infographic highlights the growing number of young people entering the workforce and the need for labor markets to adapt to accommodate them. It also emphasizes the disproportionate impact of poor labor market conditions on youth compared to adults, and the importance of addressing this issue to ensure a sustainable future for all.
Hundreds of millions of young people in the Global South face uncertain futures due to poor access to quality education, inadequate skills, and limited employment opportunities. By 2033, the Global South will host 1.2 billion people ages 15 to 24. However, unless current trends are reversed, only 480 million will attend school, and 420 million will have jobs (often precarious ones), leaving 300 million inactive. Youth inactivity negatively impacts lifelong opportunities, earnings, mobility, and mental health.
In this paper, Youth Business International (YBI) and Habitat in Türkiye shine a light on the potential of youth-led businesses that have outgrown microfinance and start-up support but are still considered too small or high-risk for mainstream investment. These businesses—often innovative and rooted in their communities—are overlooked despite their immense potential to create jobs, generate revenue, and drive sustainable economic growth. They fall into the “missing middle”.
The Goethe-Institut Jordan initiated the takween Product Design Fellowship programme as part of the Cultural and Creative Industries project. The programme offers a hands-on training for product designers and digital designers to enhance their skills and develop innovative sustainable ideas for the modern market.
The Goethe-Institut Jordan established the takween Circular Design training programme to provide an opportunity for aspiring designers, creatives, and entrepreneurs from diverse fields, such as architecture, fashion, as well as product and packaging design, to develop sustainable product ideas that promote a cleaner planet.
To better address gender inequalities and promote an inclusive environment, the supra-regional project, Cultural and Creative Industries, commissioned a gender analysis. It highlights gender-based differences in terms of the relative distribution of resources, opportunities, constraints and power in the Creative and Cultural Industries.
In Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, professions in creative and cultural industries have long been regarded as non-serious jobs by society, government authorities, and economic players. However, with the ever-increasing demand for digital design professionals, especially in the field of User Experience/User Interface (UX/UI) design, the domestic supply cannot keep up with the needs of the market. Therefore, Re:Coded and GIZ teamed up to change this perception.
EGSINA is a collective of designers that have joined forces to organise tours promoting local Senegalese fashion across multiple countries. EGSINA’s innovative approach demonstrates how a collective of designers can help develop and promote the national fashion industry. With organisational development support from GIZ, to date, EGSINA generates enough revenue to self-finance its tours.
The Jigeen Ñi Academie Musique (JAM) is a ground-breaking project in Senegal dedicated to the professional development of women. Along with practical music skills, the academy provides training in leadership and cultural entrepreneurship to enhance income and employment opportunities for women in the music industry.
The Report also provides an outline of trends shaping the nature of work in the African CCE and policies, as well as an analysis of the decent work challenges in the different countries and subsectors. The study chose five sectors of the CCE to investigate more thoroughly, each located in one of the five subregions of Africa: cultural heritage in Egypt, dance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fashion in the United Republic of Tanzania, film and TV in Nigeria, and live music in South Africa.
