Assembly/AU/Dec.363(XVII) Page 1 DECISION ON THE THEME: “ACCELERATING YOUTH EMPOWERMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” Doc. Assembly/AU/2(XVII) The Assembly, 1. TAKES NOTE of the Report on the outcomes of the Youth Forum and related meetings on „‟Accelerating of Youth empowerment for sustainable development’’ held from 1 to 9 April, 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and APPROVES the recommendations contained therein; 2. WELCOMES the Declaration of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission (LSAC) on Youth Employment for Social Cohesion and Inclusive Growth adopted by the Eighth Session of LSAC held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 11 to 15 April 2011; 3. WELCOMES on-going efforts by Member States to prioritize the youth agenda in their respective countries and in particular those which have included the African Union (AU) concerns, mainly, the ratification of the African Youth Charter as well as those that promote awareness and implementation of the Youth Decade Plan of Action (2009 – 2018); 4. COMMENDS the Republic of the Sudan for hosting the Headquarters of the Pan African Youth Union (PYU), whose inauguration and official handover took place on May 25, 2011; 5. DECIDES that: (i) all Member States should advance the youth agenda and adopt policies and mechanisms towards the creation of safe, decent and competitive employment opportunities by accelerating the implementation of the Youth Decade Plan of Action (2009-2018) and the Ouagadougou 2004 Plan of Action on Employment Promotion and Poverty Alleviation; (ii) the Commission in collaboration with its partners should elaborate a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) framework, addressing specifically the domains of Agriculture and ICT, while accelerating the implementation of the Youth Decade Plan of Action; (iii) Member States should provide to the Commission adequate resources for the advancement of the Youth Agenda, including the funding of the Pan African Youth Union; (iv) the Commission should organize on the margins of every June/July Summit a training programme for the Youth Volunteers