Call for Volunteer Board Members: The Africa Youth Advisory Board on Disaster Risk Reduction (AYAB/DRR)Deadline: September 4, 2022
Applications to join the Africa Youth Advisory Board on Disaster Risk Reduction are now open. The Africa Youth Advisory Board (AYAB) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) was established under the African Union Commission (AUC) to meaningfully engage young Africans (up to 35 years) in DRR processes on the continent.
The African continent has suffered disproportionately from the increasing occurrence of climate exacerbated disasters, because of its high exposure and high vulnerability to climate shocks.
Roles of Board Members
- Partner with national DRR focal persons, African Union partners and other stakeholders to facilitate the implementation, monitoring and review of the Programme of Action (PoA).
- Engage with the AUC, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), National and Local governments in DRR policy design that are youth-led or focused, as well as its implementation and review.
- Build linkages and synergies between youth activities focused on DRR at global, regional, national and community levels.
- Facilitate African youth engagement in continental, regional and national stakeholder fora and coordination with national and local governments, in line with and through existing platforms for youth engagement.
- Facilitate capacity building opportunities for and with young people, in collaboration with the AUC, RECs and other relevant institutions centered on the five priorities of the board.
- Facilitate intergenerational capacity building between young and experienced practitioners at different levels of engagement in DRR.
- Create avenues for the interaction of young people/youth organizations in DRR with related disciplines such as Climate Change, Urbanization, indigenous knowledge, new technologies and Sustainable Development for cross discipline building of capacities.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary and intergenerational collaboration across electronic and non-electronic platforms (defined as collaboration between different age groups) between African scientists in applying their existing and ongoing scientific research for evidence-based implementation, monitoring and follow up and review of the SFDRR.
- Leverage the PERIPERI Universities network to support young scientists in the development of new research agendas tailored to complement the implementation, monitoring and review of the Sendai Framework for postgraduate research, and where possible, in collaboration with universities, research organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
- Develop physical and virtual campaigns/strategies to extend the existing reach of DRR knowledge of young people in cooperation with different public and private institutions.
Available Positions
The 15 positions available are:
- East Africa – Two (2) positions
- West Africa – Two (2) positions
- Southern Africa – Two (2) positions
- Central Africa – Two (2) positions
- North Africa – Two (2) positions
- Priority (Understanding disaster risk) – One (1) position
- Priority 2 (Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk – One (1) position
- Priority 3 (investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience – One (1) position
- Priority 4 (enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction) – One (1) position
- Priority 5 (Community Based DRR) – One (1) position
Eligibility
- Members must not be older than 35 years of age throughout the duration of their tenure.
- The tenure of membership is two years and renewable once.
- Selection is done every two years through an Expression of Interest/Call led by the AUC.
Application
A complete application package shall consist of uploading the following items to the application link by September 4, 2022 (GMT+3):
- A CV detailing relevant qualifications and experience to the position (2 pages maximum, 12 size font Times New Roman, single spaced)
- A cover letter detailing your motivation to become part of the board (2 Pages max) – express what position you are interested in applying for membership
- Proof of African Citizenship (e.g. Passport, Identification Document)
- Name and contact details of two referees who can attest to the qualifications and experience of the applicant
