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Meet the youth delegates joining the AU-EU D4D Hub at the Transform Africa Summit 2023

17.04.2023

Project or initiative
AU-EU D4D Hub project

The Transform Africa Summit (TAS) is Africa’s leading forum bringing together global and regional leaders from government, business, and international organisations to collaborate on new ways of shaping, accelerating, and sustaining Africa’s digital revolution. The sixth edition of TAS will take place from 26-28 April 2023 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

In line with the AU-EU D4D Hub’s objective of promoting a truly inclusive digital transformation, the project has invited a delegation of youth delegates to attend TAS 2023 and participate in this important policy space. During the event, they will have the opportunity to meet digital transformation leaders from Africa and Europe and bring youth perspectives to the table.

The selected delegates have a track record advising African and European policymakers on pressing digital cooperation priorities such as connectivity and infrastructure, digital skills and inclusion, and innovation and digital entrepreneurship. Due to their outstanding experiences as youth activists and entrepreneurs, they are equipped with unique insights and ideas on how to ensure that the digital revolution contributes to a more sustainable and prosperous future. Learn more about their profiles:

Tatiana Houndjo, Benin

Tatiana Houndjo is a project management consultant and IT systems and infrastructure engineer with over five years of experience managing digital projects. She also serves as a digital expert with the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub, monitoring and providing technical advice on seven projects piloted by the hub, which benefit around 150,000 young people.

Tatiana is committed to reducing the digital divide and promoting youth and women’s inclusion in technology and Internet governance. With this aim, she started the African Youth Empowerment for Future Initiative, a non-profit organization that provides young francophone Africans the right skills they need to thrive in the digital age. Previously, she chaired the ISOC Benin chapter from 2020 to 2023.

She has been recognized as a One Young World Ambassador, a Young Leader for Development by European Commission, and an emerging leader by Harvard Business School.

Jean-Désiré Kouassi, Côte d’Ivoire

Jean-Désiré Kouakou is a member of the European Commission's Youth Sounding Board since 2022, where he advises the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) and Commissioner Jutta Urpilanen on youth priorities in EU external action.

Jean-Désiré is dedicated to promoting positive change through digital education. He has participated in diverse youth advocacy and digital literacy projects, for which he has received several national and international awards.

His professional experience includes working as Community Manager for the European Union Delegation in Côte d'Ivoire, Social Media Management Consultant for Breakthrough Action + Research at Johns Hopkins University, Digital Marketing Manager for LG Electronics West Africa, Digital Marketing Consultant for Chatham House, and Social Media Editor for The Communiqué.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Linguistics and a Social Media Marketing Certificate from Kirkwood Community College.

Anny Sybille Izere, Burundi

Anny Sybille Izere is a Burundian refugee living in Uganda. In 2022, she was nominated to the Girls in D4D campaign in recognition of her efforts in empowering refugee adolescent girls with digital skills.

Anny Sybille is the founder of a community-based organization called Her Dreams Count, which delivers website development and coding courses in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Fifty young women have already benefitted from this initiative, which also includes a support programme to help young women express themselves and help each other to find opportunities.

Moreover, Anny Sybille currently leads the East Africa communications department of Kuja Kuja, a social enterprise that uses new technologies to collect and process open-ended feedback from customers and support service providers to understand and act upon their priorities in real-time. She has also worked with different humanitarian organisations such as Alight and Choose Yourself.

Ray Nkum, Ghana

Ray Nkum is passionate about leveraging digital technologies for sustainable development. In 2022, he was selected as an African Union Digital and Innovation Fellow. As part of this programme, he was assigned to the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat (AfCFTA), where he continues to work as a Communications Officer.

His previous experience includes developing a ride-sharing platform to provide a sustainable urban transportation option, using digital tools to increase citizens’ awareness of their public finances to demand accountability and transparency, deploying open-source technologies for election monitoring, and applying AI chatbots to trade information.

Among other awards, Ray was recognised as one of the top 5 Digital Africa Award winners by the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), which gave visibility to important future innovations across Africa.

He holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Development Studies from the University of Cape Coast.