The African Youth Union (AYU) is a Pan-African youth organisation that boasts the largest youth representation in Africa. The AYU seeks to bridge the gap between the youth and government, and acts as a conduit between the youth and regional bodies such as the African Union, Southern African Development Community, Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community, amongst oth
ers. The AYU is mandated to lobby African governments for the implementation of youth centred policies such as the African Youth Charter. These policies seek to promote and support entrepreneurship amongst the youth, promote democracy and good governance through ethical leadership, encourage the mentoring and coaching of young African leaders; prioritise youth policy based research and to preserve Africa’s natural resources through the AYU Green Campaign. The AYU seeks to supplement these state-level processes by deepening the continent’s integration through a bottom-up process, that places the people (and youth of Africa) at the centre of regional integration and Pan-Africanism through social entrepreneurship, hosting summits and events, encouraging collaboration between non-profit organisations, youth leadership training and development
