ILO at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development

- Official portal of the Conference (TICAD9)

Overview

The Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) was launched in 1993 by the Government of Japan, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the United Nations, UNDP, and the World Bank to promote Africa’s development, peace, and security, through the strengthening of relations in multilateral cooperation and partnership.

Since its inception over 30 years ago, TICAD has played a pivotal role in rallying international support for Africa’s development. Anchored in the principles of African ownership and international partnership, TICAD has become a key multilateral platform for dialogue and action on the continent’s most pressing challenges and opportunities.

As a long-time partner of TICAD, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is committed to ensuring that the process places decent work, social justice, and inclusive economic growth at the heart of Africa’s development agenda. The ILO brings its unique tripartite structure; including governments, employers, and workers, to the TICAD process, helping to promote policies and partnerships that create decent jobs, strengthen social protection, and advance rights at work.

ILO objectives at TICAD included:

Strengthening African countries’ commitment to advancing Social Justice and Decent Work for vulnerable communities, including women and youth, to promote regional development and security.
Enhancing collaboration and knowledge-sharing among policymakers and institutions.
Encouraging African governments to integrate employment-intensive approaches into policies and strategies.
Promoting quality community assets development for "Build Back Better" and disaster risk reduction.

Regional Context

Current violence and conflict in several countries in Africa show the level of discontent and mistrust, undermining social cohesion when underlying challenges like poverty, limited opportunity, especially for youth and women, social exclusion, and inequality are not appropriately managed.

Africa faces a multitude of interconnected and increasingly neglected crises, with the working poor already struggling against political insecurity, climate change, and increasingly frequent and intense natural hazards such as floods and droughts.

These crises strain resources, fuel conflicts, and deepen vulnerability, threatening jobs and livelihoods. If unaddressed, they lead to displacement, often causing protracted secondary displacement for those already forcibly displaced. Such social instability disproportionately affects marginalized groups, deepening inequalities and threatening peace and security.

Addressing root causes of fragility and structural vulnerabilities, in parallel with enhancing disaster management system, is critical for socio- economic development in Africa .
The ILO, a key contributor to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), emphasizes the strong connection between decent work and DRR.

Supporting the UN Plan on Action on DRR for Resilience, the ILO joins networks such as the UN Senior Leadership Group and UNDRR Focal Point Group.

In the side event, the ILO will partner with the UNDRR which similarly has ample experience of supporting long-term DRR planning across a wide range of contexts, as well as supporting DRR in fragile settings and the provision of technical support on scaling up DRR in humanitarian action.
Forcibly displaced populations driven from their homes by crises and host communities face significant disruptions to their employment and livelihoods.

Quality job opportunities are essential to enhance resilience and promote inclusive growth, ultimately contributing to the SDGs.

The ILO demonstrates this through activities like flood protection and restoration of waterworks, strengthening community assets and providing livelihoods. Its approaches prioritize optimizing local resources; labour, materials, contractors, authorities, and communities to create economic multipliers.

Unlike short-term cash-for-work models, the ILO’s approaches to disaster risk reduction and recovery focus on a rights-based, long-term strategy that mainstream decent work and social justice into investments.

This method builds transformative infrastructure and advances economic, social, and environmental goals across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Crucially, these efforts create productive and decent jobs, particularly for vulnerable groups, including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in times of crises.

Watch the ILO-UNDRR Thematic High-level Side Event

Jobs and livelihoods, enhancing resilience: A means to address root causes of protracted crises

Video on demand

Jobs and livelihoods, enhancing resilience: A means to address root causes of protracted crises

This event highlighted the ILO's value in strengthening resilience through job creation, work-based learning and local capacity building, showcasing best practices aligned with the Sendai Framework.

Outcome Documents

Jobs and livelihoods central to resilience in Africa

Group photo of speakers at the ILO–UNDRR high-level side event during TICAD9 in Yokohama on 21 August 2025.

Joint ILO - UNDRR statement

Jobs and livelihoods central to resilience in Africa

22 August 2025

Jobs and livelihoods, enhancing resilience: A means to address root causes of protracted crises

Three South African female workers on an ILO Employment Intensive Investment Programme project smile at the camera.

Curtain-raiser video

Jobs and livelihoods, enhancing resilience: A means to address root causes of protracted crises

21 August 2025

ILO Statement to the TICAD9 Plenary Session on Realizing a Sustainable Future

ILO statement

ILO Statement to the TICAD9 Plenary Session on Realizing a Sustainable Future

22 August 2025

ILO Statement to the TICAD9 Plenary Session on Promoting Trade and Investment

ILO statement

ILO Statement to the TICAD9 Plenary Session on Promoting Trade and Investment

21 August 2025

ILO Statement to the TICAD9 Plenary Session on Ensuring Human Dignity and Human Security

ILO statement

ILO Statement to the TICAD9 Plenary Session on Ensuring Human Dignity and Human Security

20 August 2025

Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa Begins with Jobs

Workers on a canal carry out regular maintenance work in Madagascar.

Op-ed

Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa Begins with Jobs

20 August 2025

ILO's Partnership with Japan for Decent Work in Africa

Since 2018, the ILO’s Employment in Investments (EMPINVEST) Branch of the Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods Department has spearheaded successful resource mobilization through its involvement in TICAD, securing funding from Japan’s Supplementary Budget (JSB) via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

These efforts have supported eight Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) projects to date via JSB, with funding confirmed for six additional ILO projects in 2025, including three EIIP projects in Mali, South Africa, and Syria.

Additionally, EIIP has cultivated a longstanding collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since 2006, strengthening Africa’s labour-based training institutes established by the ILO. Focusing on making ILO’s mandate of “advancing social justice and promoting decent work” more visible and credible through in-country work.

Since 2018, the EIIP has secured over USD 11.9 million from the JSB provided by MoFA, along with three Junior Professional Officers (JPOs). MoFA’s commitment reflects its broader official development assistance efforts, which are over USD 2 billion annually through international organizations.

For more information on the overall ILO-Japan cooperation, please visit the Japan–ILO Partnership page.

Our Partnership's Impact

Youth employment

Promoting youth employment in e-waste management and circular economy while using Japanese technology, and in infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance.

Women empowerment

Supporting women, along with youth and returnees, in the road sector, and empowering women through waterworks restoration for disaster risk reduction.

Refugee integration

Economic integration of refugees through construction work and skills development.

Crisis response

Immediate job creation through infrastructure work in post-earthquake situations and generating employment through peace-focused water supply projects.

Capacity building

Providing job opportunities and building skills through infrastructure rehabilitation, community partnerships with training institutions, and work-based learning.

Climate resilience

Infrastructure rehabilitation in cyclone-affected areas using Japanese local-resource based technology, and green works for climate adaptation.

The 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) is a key moment to tackle Africa’s development challenges and unlock opportunities for inclusive growth and prosperity. With Japan’s global leadership in disaster risk reduction, TICAD9 is a chance for the ILO to show how creating decent jobs can both reduce unemployment and strengthen communities against disasters – from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery.

TICAD 8 took place from 27–28 August 2022 in Tunis, Tunisia, bringing together leaders and partners to shape Africa’s future development agenda.

Focus Pillars

Achieving sustainable and inclusive growth by reducing economic inequalities.

Building a resilient society grounded in human security.

Supporting Africa’s own efforts to ensure sustainable peace and stability.

Participants

20 Heads of State.

Government representatives from 48 African countries.

Leaders from international organizations, civil society, and the private sector.

ILO’s Key Contributions

Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for a Just Transition in Africa: A high-level policy dialogue, organized by the ILO Regional Office for Africa (ROAF) in collaboration with the African Union, explored how the Global Accelerator can create decent jobs and extend social protection across the continent. Key speakers included the ILO Director-General and Assistant Director-General, alongside senior officials from Japan, Tunisia, Malawi, Egypt, Uganda, UNDP, the African Development Bank, and ITUC-Africa.

Human Security and Emergency Jobs for Peace and Resilience: In partnership with JICA, the ILO’s Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) hosted a side event highlighting how Japan–ILO collaboration supports decent work in fragile African contexts. Panellists included high-ranking officials from Madagascar, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, with keynote speeches by the ILO Deputy Director-General, JICA’s Senior Vice-President, and the Chief of the ILO’s Employment Investment Branch.

Private Sector’s Role in Combating Climate Change: Co-organized by the ILO, Tunisia’s Ministry of Environment, Global Pact, and the Council of Banking and Finance, this side event showcased how businesses can drive climate action and sustainable development. Leaders from IFC, JICA, and Japan’s Ministry of Environment shared best practices and commitments.

Policies for Resilience and Economic Transformation in Africa: Together with JICA, the ILO hosted a side event on strategies for strengthening Africa’s economic resilience in the post-COVID-19 era. Speakers included representatives from JICA, the Togolese Republic, and AUDA-NEPAD.
TICAD 7 took place from 28–30 August 2019 in Yokohama, Japan, with a strong focus on economic transformation, resilience, and peace in Africa.

Focus Pillars

Accelerating economic transformation through innovation and private sector engagement.

Promoting a sustainable and resilient society.

Strengthening peace and stability.

Participants

42 African leaders representing 53 countries.

52 development partner countries.

108 heads of international and regional organizations.

Representatives from civil society and the private sector.

ILO’s Key Contributions

Plenary Interventions: The ILO shared its findings on creating enabling business environments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa (Session 2). It also advocated for a just transition in response to natural disasters, referencing ILO Recommendation No. 205 (Session 4), and highlighted the Organization’s development cooperation for social justice in fragile African contexts (Session 5).

Special Conference on Peace and Stability in the Sahel Region: The ILO emphasized the importance of youth job creation as a critical factor for stability in the Sahel. The event gathered high-level representatives from 25 countries and organizations, including Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the African Union Commission’s Commissioner for Peace and Security. The ILO’s Regional Director and Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EMPINVEST) Branch Chief held discussions with other senior officials, including the G5 Sahel Permanent Secretary.

High-Level Event: “Jobs 4 Youth – A Human Agenda to Boost Investment and Productivity in Africa”: This event focused on investments in infrastructure and strategic sectors to promote youth employment, skills development, and productivity. It featured a keynote address by South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry and remarks by the ILO Director-General and MoFA. The panel discussion attracted over 100 participants, including high-ranking representatives from South Africa, The Gambia, G5 Sahel, JICA, NEPAD, and a Japanese NGO.

Human Stories

Turning adversity into opportunity thanks to biochar

Côte d'Ivoire

Turning adversity into opportunity thanks to biochar

In northern Côte d'Ivoire, Diallo Koundja and his family, asylum seekers from Burkina Faso, are regaining hope and dignity thanks to an ILO project on biochar.

I Want to Be a Leader for Gambian Youth