SKILLS FOR FAIR DIGITAL TRANSITIONS IN AFRICA

Africa is on the cusp of transformative change. By 2050, it will be home to the world’s youngest workforce, yet today nearly 100 million young people are not in education, employment, or training. Challenges such as informality, underemployment, and a persistent digital divide continue to hamper inclusive growth. Expanding access to digital skills and technologies is key to unlocking opportunity and supporting youth participation in the digital economy.

The Skills for Fair Digital Transitions in Africa initiative—co-organized by ITCILO and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and in partnership with African Union Commission—Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation—responds to this need. Taking place on 7-8 October 2025 in Turin and Nairobi (with a global livestream), the event will bring together diverse actors from across the world of work to drive forward practical solutions for inclusive, human-centred digital transitions.

Anchored in the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, Italy’s development strategy, and African Union frameworks like Agenda 2063 and CESA 2025, the initiative aims to turn high level dialogue into locally relevant action. Through real-time innovation sprints and structured collaboration, it seeks to bridge the gap between policy and practice—empowering Africa’s youth and advancing shared prosperity.

The Skills for Fair Digital Transitions in Africa aims to catalyse inclusive, technology-enabled pathways for skills, employment, entrepreneurship, and institutional transformation across the continent.

This initiative provides a platform to foster cross-continental dialogue, co-create scalable solutions, and build multi-level partnerships that turn policy into practice—ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital future.

Specifically, the event will:

• Empowering institutions and social partners to leverage technology in addressing labour market challenges and fostering future-ready skills systems.
• Promoting responsive and inclusive TVET ecosystems, incorporating AI, mobile learning, and smart credentials for broader access and employability.
• Fostering cross-sector partnerships and innovation, including public-private cooperation and tech-powered entrepreneurship for women and youth.
• Anchoring policy in practice by spotlighting homegrown innovations, supporting grassroots startups, and scaling digital tools for skilling and employment.

“Skills for Fair Digital Transitions” is the central focus of this event. Anchored under the event’s central focus, the event will reflect on six key domains of fair digital transitions in skills systems:

1. TVET for workforce readiness and youth employment 
2. Regular and circular labour migration pathways 
3. Entrepreneurship and business development support 
4. The deployment of Artificial Intelligence 
5. Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion, with a focus on transition to formality
6. The role of local authorities and place-based policies

Across these, social dialogue will serve as a foundational mechanism—both a strategic tool and an inclusive platform—for engaging stakeholders, shaping responsive policy interventions, and ensuring coherence across all thematic and cross-cutting dimensions. 

Skills for Fair Digital Transitions in Africa unfolds across a connected, hybrid programme that links high-level dialogue, regional insight, and youth-led innovation in Turin and in Nairobi. Each component is designed to reinforce the others—creating a shared platform for ideas, solutions, and partnerships that extend across countries and constituencies.

Location: UN Campus, Turin | Dates: 7-8 October 2025 | Format: Hybrid

Day 1: The Turin Summit

Session 1: Opening Plenary – A Vision for Fair Digital Transitions

• High-level panel discussion with interactive Q&A

Session 2: Key Challenges in Skills Systems for a Fair Digital Transition

• Constituent Presentations on Challenges on Skills for Fair Digital Transitions in Africa

Session 3: Reimagining Skills Systems for the AI-enabled Age

• Roundtable Discussion on Shaping a Future-Ready and Inclusive Skills Ecosystem

Session 4: Building Inclusive Digital Futures

• Lightning Talks: Beyond Connectivity—Confronting Barriers to Inclusive Digital Skills and Employment

Session 5: Innovation in Action – Pitch for the Tech & Partnership Fair

• Innovation Pitch Session with Tech & Ecosystem Leaders

Day 2: Turin Tech and Networking Fair

• Exhibition walk-throughs with adaptive learning, VR/AR, and Spotlight Demo Sessions on African-Italian innovation partnerships
• Structured networking tables fostering partnerships between African and European actors.
• Tech Transfer Clinics connecting African stakeholders with research institutions and private sector innovators.
• Live pitch finale of hackathon winners streamed from Nairobi with real-time jury voting and awards ceremony.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya | Dates: 7-8 October 2025 | Format: On-site & livestream

Nairobi Hackathon: Tech Challenge for Fair Digital Transitions (7-8 October)

• An intensive 2-day innovation sprint bringing together 20 selected African startups to co-create digital solutions for fair digital transitions in Africa.

Key features:

• Hands-on prototyping: Startups tackle real-world challenges tied to fair digital transitions, co-defined with social partners and stakeholders.
• Solution focus areas:
  • Strengthening skills systems
  • Boosting youth employment
  • Leveraging AI, digital credentialing, adaptive learning, and open data platforms
  • Closing the digital divide
  • Empowering marginalized communities
• Pitch to policymakers: Final prototypes of the solutions are presented to a tripartite jury during the Turin Summit, enabling dialogue with government, employers, and workers' reps.
• Incubation opportunity: Winning teams will join an ITCILO incubation programme running through December 2025.
• Ethics & impact: All solutions will be rooted in accessibility, sustainability, and policy relevance.

This initiative stands out not only for who are in the rooms but for the shared commitment to shaping practical, forward-looking responses to Africa’s skills and employment priorities.

Over two days, delegates will:

• Contribute to regional and global conversations on digital skills, green and fair transitions, and inclusive employment systems.
• Engage with youth-led innovations addressing concrete challenges in skills development, digital access, and labour market inclusion.
• Forge cross-sector and international partnerships—linking public institutions, training providers, startups, and social partners.
• Generate insights that inform national strategies, policy dialogue, and institutional capacity building.
• Reinforce long-term cooperation between Africa, Italy, and international partners on innovation, human capital, and decent work.

This is an event that combines policy dialogue and hands-on connections for collaboration, co-creation, and strategic alignment—designed to advance shared priorities through collective action.

Expect a diverse, influential mix of participants:

• Ministers and high-level government representatives from Africa and Europe
• Employers’ and workers’ organizations (including IOE and ITUC)
• Public institutions and TVET providers
• Development partners and international organizations
• African youth-led startups, digital solution providers and tech incubators from Europe and Africa
• Academia, subject matter experts and researchers

The events will be run in English, French and Portuguese.

Contact: catalyst@itcilo.org