“The human capacity to find solutions to any challenge if there is a wish to solve them” – this is one of the hopes that GDL member and change-maker Elizabeth Maloba from Kenya has.

In an interview for the BMW Foundation, she talks about the challenges of achieving SDG 8, “decent work and economic growth.”

For Elizabeth, there is still more to be done than has been achieved so far if the goal is to be achieved by 2030, especially with high rates of unemployment among women and young people. She is also particularly concerned about small and medium-sized enterprises and workers in high-risk sectors, which are particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of her most important comments is about the need to get young people out of unemployment, and to create sustainable work for young people, so that they do not slip into poverty or fall into crime. Jobs for young people will lay the foundation for economic growth.

In the full interview with Elizabeth you can learn more on how she is tackling the problem. Additional information on the topic can be found on the TwentyThirty blog.

Furthermore, Elizabeth in collaboration with Stefan Cibian contributed to a compendium of essays reflecting on the role of young people as actors of change which was published by GDL members together with Anthem Press comprised under the title: The Demographic Dividend and the Power of Youth – Voices from the Global Diplomacy Lab.
In their essay Elizabeth and Stefan stress the disparity of how societies in African states work compared to their governments.

About the author:

Elizabeth Maloba works in cross-sectoral, trans-professional, multi-stakeholder settings, providing support in problem solving and decision making processes and facilitating learning and the exchange of ideas.

Published on April 28, 2021.

Photo credit: Marc Beckmann