Revisit the Latest Future Africa Forum with Hopolang Phororo
The Future Africa Forum is a periodic seminar series, through which African development experts share perspectives about the continent’s growth trajectory from their research and work. The Forum aims to create broad awareness of the challenges and opportunities for development in Africa, and to enable aspiring public sector leaders to explore various avenues through which these challenges can be addressed.
Each quarter, Future Africa convenes a Forum with experts on themes ranging from education to entrepreneurship, agriculture, peace and security, natural resource management, elections and democratic governance, healthcare, information technology and infrastructure development.
On Saturday 20th August 2022, we hosted the Country Director for the International Labour Organization (Zimbabwe & Namibia), Ms Hoplang Phororo for the seventh Future Africa Forum. Watch the recording below.
Empowerment vs Employment of Youth
This forum on Empowerment vs Employment of Youth discussed approaches to policy that better address empowerment, and the distinction between empowerment and youth employment. Ms Hopolang Phororo drew from her experience to provide insights on the frontier of expanding youth opportunities, labour policies, and development on the African continent. Listen to learn about the key decisions that influenced the ILO Country Director’s career, and how she has weaved her passions and interests to proactively contribute to development on the African continent.
About Hopolang Phororo
Ms Hopolang Phororo is a development practitioner, who started her career in the Government of Lesotho (Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperatives and Marketing); worked at the Institute of Southern African Studies (National University of Lesotho) as a Research Fellow, undertaking research on agriculture and socioeconomic issues; and at UNDP in the Office of the Resident Coordinator, as a National Programme Officer. Subsequent to that, Ms Phororo worked for four years as a Researcher at the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU), where she undertook research on HIV/AIDS; socioeconomic and agriculture topics. She has worked for fifteen years in the ILO, as a Decent Work Focal Point Officer and Youth Employment Specialist in the Regional Office for Africa; and as the Deputy Director for the Dar es Salaam Country Office.
She has published several working papers and selected articles and chapters in books on HIV/AIDS, youth employment and agricultural marketing related topics. Ms Phororo is passionate about empowering women and youth and runs coaching programmes and advocates against gender-based violence. Her other interests include travelling, running, reading, and writing and has written an inspirational book titled, “Joy Comes in the Morning”. She holds a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States and is currently the ILO Director for the ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe and Namibia.
About the Future Africa Forum
The Future Africa Forum is a periodic seminar series, through which African development experts share perspectives about the continent’s growth trajectory from their research and work. The Forum aims to create broad awareness of the challenges and opportunities for development in Africa, and to enable aspiring public sector leaders to explore various avenues through which these challenges can be addressed.
Each quarter, Future Africa convenes a Forum with experts on themes ranging from education to entrepreneurship, agriculture, peace and security, natural resource management, elections and democratic governance, healthcare, information technology and infrastructure development.
Key components of the Forum
During the Forum, public sector experts share their insights with our fellows and attendees about their experiences working in governments or international organizations. Following their detailed presentations, participants engage in a Q & A session with the experts to gain first-hand insights into the inner workings of public institutions and their influences in shaping African development.
Revisit Previous Forums