Youth-Led Research Reports: The story behind
March 2025-January 2026
The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective programme has marked a major milestone with the completion and publication of three Youth-Led Research Reports coordinated by Restless Development. Conducted between March 2025 and January 2026, the research brought together 27 youth researchers from 14 African countries to explore some of the most pressing issues affecting young people today.
The research covered Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Through a youth-led approach, researchers co-designed tools, led fieldwork, and ensured that young people’s lived realities remained at the centre of the process.
The initiative produced three reports: Beyond Tokenism: Making Youth Participation Count in Africa’s Development, Beyond Hustle: Youth Entrepreneurship and the Green Jobs Future in Africa, and Unspoken Rules: How Culture and Stigma Shape Young People’s Contraceptive Choices in Africa.
Using Restless Development’s six-step youth-led methodology, the research combined surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, stakeholder consultations, and community dialogues. In total, the activity engaged 1,463 survey respondents, 955 focus group discussion participants across 98 discussions, and 151 key informant interviewees. Research activities were conducted in English, French, and Arabic to promote inclusive participation across diverse contexts.
The reports highlight key challenges facing young people, including limited access to decision-making spaces, barriers to finance and employment, gaps in practical education, and stigma surrounding sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Importantly, they also provide practical recommendations and evidence-based insights to support advocacy, policy dialogue, and youth-led action across Africa and Europe.
As a completed outcome, the reports demonstrate the value of youth-led research in shaping more inclusive and responsive systems for young people.
