We are happy to announce that the INCLUDE knowledge platform will continue working towards making Africa more inclusive.

Six years after its initiation, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has granted INCLUDE a new subsidy to support its efforts in policy making for inclusive development. We will carry on using our convening power to bring together researchers, policymakers, civil society representatives and practitioners from Africa and the Netherlands to exchange knowledge and ideas on how to achieve inclusive development in Africa.

In this new phase, we will continue the African Policy Dialogues, which support dialogues with African policymakers on research on inclusive development in the continent, as well as the ‘New roles of CSOs for inclusive development’ programme (Assumptions Programme), which investigates the assumptions, problems and solutions underlying the civil society policy framework ‘Dialogue & Dissent’. As such, the successful programmes initiated by INCLUDE and its members shall be extended and deepened. Furthermore, we will strengthen the engagement of the platform in (inclusive) development through some exciting new activities and collaborations:

• Youth employment: This year we kick start our collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and International Labour Organization (ILO) on ‘Boosting Decent Employment for Africa’s Youth’. This initiative supports action-oriented research that informs the design of interventions for scaling up impact on youth employment under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read more in this previous announcement.
• Regular advisory meetings: INCLUDE will hold regular advisory meetings with the Dutch MFA on work and income for youth and women, education for girls and political inclusion.
• Broadening of scope: INCLUDE will broaden its geographical scope in Africa beyond the seven focus countries.

In addition, INCLUDE will engage in more knowledge brokering and synthesizing relevant knowledge in accessible formats.

New Secretariat members

On an organizational note, we are pleased to welcome three new members to our INCLUDE Secretariat. Manon Heuvels and Agnieszka Kazimierczuk will join us from the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL), and Wilson Wasike will join from the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Nairobi. Of course, The Broker will continue its contribution to the Secretariat.

We are excited about this promising start to INCLUDE’s new phase and the years to come with its new Secretariat team.