Since the establishment of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, the global multilateral institution has always paid attention to the plight of young people through its agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). However, in September last year, the UN made a historic reform by establishing a UN Youth Office (UNYO) with a mandate to bring issues affecting youth to the centre of UN programmes. The formation of the UN youth office is critical for the…
Lennon Monyae
Lennon Monyae
Lennon has an academic background in International Relations and Politics and is a youth development policy expert in Africa. He holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Johannesburg.
Lennon joined the African Peer Review Mechanism Continental Secretariat as a Researcher in February 2017. The APRM is a specialised agency of the African Union (AU) initiated in 2002 and established in 2003 by the African Union in the framework of the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The mechanism is a tool for sharing experiences, reinforcing best practices, identifying deficiencies, and assessing capacity-building needs to foster policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration.
Lennon is the officer responsible for organizing the APRM International Youth Symposium and civil society engagements at the APRM Continental Secretariat. He has led the teams responsible for the 1st APRM International Youth Symposium in Chad, N'djamena (2019), the 2nd Symposium in Kenya, Nairobi (2021) and the 3rd Symposium in Uganda (2022). Lennon formed part of the 2nd Generation APRM Country Review teams of the Republic of Uganda (2018) and the Republic of Namibia Targeted Review on Youth Unemployment (2019).
Lennon is a dedicated, committed individual who is driven by the Pan-African philosophy. Since the start of his professional career, Mr Monyae has been working to promote good governance on the African continent through various initiatives such as volunteering in various NGOs and Non- Profit Organizations, fundraising and awareness campaigns.
He has authored various book chapters, journal articles and newspaper articles on topics related to African democracy and good governance. In his spare time, Lennon is a professional cyclist having competed in the Race to the Sun a 160 km gravel and mountain bike journey from Hartbeespoort Dam to Sun City and the Virgin Active 947 Ride Joburg.
