First, young Africans and Japanese shared their vision. Then they wrote it into policy at Youth TICAD 2025 in Yokohama. Now, 300 young changemakers converge on Accra, Ghana, to found the Africa–Japan Youth Alliance (AJYA), a youth-owned, youth-run structure built to deliver the policy vision

TICAD Youth Drive 2026

What future do young Africans and Japanese actually want?  The TICAD Youth Drive 2026 delivers the answer: A future young people build by themselves.

The TICAD Youth Drive 2026, convened by the Africa Diaspora Network Japan (ADNJ), the Africa Asia Youth Nest (AAYN), the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, and other Africa–Japan development partners, will take place on 13–14 August at the Mensvic Grand Hotel in Accra under the theme “Youth Agenda 2055: From Vision to Action.” It brings together 300 youth leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers from across Africa and Japan, deliberately including rural and underserved talent, as well as government ministries, NGOs, IGOs, and other stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem.

THE STORY SO FAR: FROM VISION, TO POLICY, TO ACTION

The TICAD Youth Initiative did not start as an alliance-building exercise; it started as a listening exercise. At earlier drives, young people from across Africa and Japan were asked to share their own visions of what their futures should look like: what opportunity, dignity, and inclusion should mean for their generation. Those visions were drafted into policy. At Youth TICAD 2025, held alongside TICAD9 in Yokohama, that drafting exercise culminated in the adoption of ‘Youth Agenda 2055: The Future We Want,’ a youth-authored policy framework setting out Africa and Japan's shared youth vision through to 2055.

THE TICAD YOUTH DRIVE 2026 – GHANA

The TICAD Youth Drive 2026 in Accra is the next chapter, not a new one: it is where that vision and that policy get hands-on. Having told the world what future they want and written it down, young people are now building the alliance to deliver it themselves. 

BUILT ON CAPACITY:

1.Reinforce critical skills

The TICAD Youth Drive 2026 is anchored in capacity building. Beyond high-level policy dialogue, participants take part in facilitator-led skills sessions, applied case studies, peer co-creation, and innovation and partnership labs, designed to move them from dialogue into real, actionable Africa–Japan co-creation.

2.Disseminate the present skills

The drive also gives young leaders a platform to show and tell: to demonstrate, in front of government, diplomatic, and investment stakeholders, the strengths, skills, and evidence-based initiatives they already bring to the table. 

OUTCOME(S): TICAD YOUTH DRIVE 2026 – GHANA.

1.The message ADNJ & AAYN is passing: Africa and Japan's Young Leaders Stop Waiting to Be Invited and Launch Their Own Alliance to Implement the ‘Youth Agenda 2055: The Future We Want.’

 2.The Drive will culminate in the Youth TICAD Accra Declaration, disseminated into real policy, diplomatic, and advocacy processes, alongside the formal launch of the AJYA and the political, financial, and knowledge partnerships needed to scale youth-led work beyond the event itself.

 3.The Africa Japan Youth Alliance (AJYA) is a new, youth-owned alliance launching at the 2026 Youth TICAD Drive. It gives young people from Africa and Japan a standing, self-directed structure for implementing Youth Agenda 2055 and related continental and bilateral frameworks — designed and driven by young people themselves, rather than delegated to established institutions on their behalf.