The 17th annual African Renaissance Festival scheduled for the city later this month would tackle the growing issue of youth unemployment and the importance of boosting entrepreneurs who created jobs over graduates merely seeking work, African Renaissance Trust vice-chairman Sihawukele Ngubane said yesterday.

Unveiling the festival, being held between May 23 and 26 at the Durban International Convention Centre, he said KwaZulu-Natal remained the only province annually celebrating Africa - with the event incorporationg Africa Day on May 25, the date marking the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963.

Following three years where the Africa Renaissance Festival focused on connecting Africa, this year's theme centred on entrepreneur development with an emphasis on the youth.  The event launches with an African Day concert on May 23, followed by the two-day conference on May 25 and 26.

Ngubane said entrepreneurship was a key driving force in economic development and it was thus important for talented youth to be encouraged and supported that they might became the main creators of opportunities in the future.

The programme would also promote and maximise the the opportunities available for youth through obtaining college and university bursaries both locally and internationally.

The conference would feature representatives from the ministries of Basic Education, Trade and Industry and Small Business Development with confirmed speakers including the eThekwini Mayor, James Nxumalo, KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu, First Rand chief executive and executive director Sizwe Nxasana, Indian consulate-general Rajagopalan Ragunathan and the US consulate-general, Frances Chisholm.

Conference sessions include an overview of government policy and provision for entrepreneurs and skills development in South Africa; entrepreneurial development at tertiary institutes and inspiring presentations by several successful entrepreneurs.

There will also be a session on international exchange programmes.  In light of the recent countrywide xenophobic attacks, Mchunu said the event would provide a platform for repairing the damage that these attacks had done to South Africa's image globally and specifically across Africa.

Ït will provide the platform to outline and explain our laws, attitudes and location within Africa, as we acknowledge that the root cause for foreign nationals being in South Africa is economic,"he said.

The eThekwini Municipality's speaker, Logie Naidoo, said the conference provided the opportunity for looking at Africa and identifying and identifying means by which the continent could move forward, specifically given the strengths of its young population and abundant naturals resources.

- The Mercury, Friday May 8, 2015.