Samsung Electronics has reinstated its commitment to assist African youths in building capacity at the International Youth Foundation (IYF) conference held recently in South Africa to discuss the implementation of the Samsung Real Dreams program with key stakeholders across the region.
Aligned with the company’s corporate philosophy, Samsung Real Dreams empowers African youth by providing them with the knowledge and opportunities they need to be successful and realize their dreams. The program plans to reach as many as 4,500 young people across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa who will benefit from training in ICT skills, life skills for employability, entrepreneurship and vocational skills, as well as job placement and enterprise development services.
The conference provided a common orientation for the stakeholders involved and includes site visits to local Samsung Real Dreams projects. The two day event also include a panel discussion and workshops engaging participants from the private, public and civil society sectors around youth employability and entrepreneurship issues in Africa .
“Samsung Real Dreams was established to help youth in Africa to fulfill their hopes, future aspirations and visions. A central feature of the program is to help at-risk youth enhance their employability and opportunities for successful, long-term careers,” said Choongro Lee, President of Samsung South Africa.
Lee added that the meeting is designed to maximize synergies between involved parties with the common goal of promoting employability and entrepreneurship among young people across Africa. “Together with IYF and our local partners, we are confident we can achieve Samsung Real Dreams’ objectives and touch the lives of thousands of young people in the region.”
In Nigeria, Samsung Real Dreams is working with three NGO partners-The Afterschool Graduate Development Center (AGDC); the FATE Foundation and the Pan-African School of Media and Communications (PAU) to provide employability and entrepreneurship training and services to disadvantaged Nigerian youth. Programs include internships and job placement for youth seeking employment and mentoring and enterprise development services for youth pursuing entrepreneurship.