African Union Youth Volunteer Corps

The African Union Youth Volunteer Corps (AUYVC) is a flagship program of the African Union which recruits, trains and deploys young African professionals aged 18-35 from all 55 AU Member States and the Diaspora to serve as professional volunteers for a period of 12 months in a country other than their own. AUYVC was launched in December 2010 and is currently the largest pan African volunteer and exchange program that works towards the realization of the AU Agenda 2063 for a prosperous, peaceful and integrated Africa driven by its citizen. African Union Heads of State and Government, in light of the great potential, dynamism, resourcefulness and aspiration of African Youth – in decision Assembly/AU/Dec.274 (XVI) have recognized youth volunteerism as a mechanism for youth empowerment and catalyst for the continent’s development and mandated the Commission to establish a continental volunteer initiative. AU-YVC promotes volunteering to deepen the status of young people in Africa as key participants in the delivery of Africa's human development targets and goals. It brings people together to share skills, knowledge, creativity and learning to build a more integrated Continent and by implication strengthen Africa's relevance in the globalized world.