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Recognition at the Commonwealth Youth Summit in Oxford highlights the growing impact of the African Youth Survey, with the Foundation’s next major youth data release due on Africa Day
14 April 2026 - Oxford, UK: Ivor Ichikowitz, Chair of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, has received the Commonwealth Award for Youth Impact 2026 in recognition of the Foundation’s work advancing youth development through the African Youth Survey, one of the most ambitious and wide-ranging research programmes focused on the views, aspirations and frustrations of young Africans.
The award was presented at the Commonwealth Youth Summit at Oxford University this weekend. Awarded by the Commonwealth Youth Council and the Commonwealth Leadership Academy, the honour recognises individuals and organisations whose work is helping to drive meaningful progress in youth development across the Commonwealth.
Mr Ichikowitz received the award for the impact of the African Youth Survey, the Foundation’s biennial research initiative which has become the most trusted and extensive major source of evidence on what young Africans think about politics, economic opportunity, governance, migration, security, identity and the future of the continent.
The Foundation also confirmed today that Africa Youth Survey 2026 will be released on 25 May 2026, Africa Day.
The new edition is based on 6,000 interviews across 16 African countries with young adults aged 18 to 24. It is the fourth edition in the series since 2020 and forms part of a broader body of research that has now engaged more than 20,000 respondents in 30 African countries.
Accepting the award, Mr Ichikowitz – who has been the Commissioner of the Africa Youth Survey since its inaugural edition in 2020 – said the recognition mattered because it reflected not simply the production of research, but the urgency of what that research reveals.
“This recognition is not about producing elegant research. It is about confronting the reality that too many young Africans remain excluded from opportunity, capital and decision-making, even while leaders speak constantly about youth development.
“The Africa Youth Survey exists to make that reality impossible to ignore. It shows the gap between what systems promise young people and what they actually deliver. That is why this recognition matters: because data only matters if it changes who gets heard, who gets funded and who gets to decide.”
Among previous findings highlighted in his remarks were that nearly 3 in 5 African youth say they are likely to emigrate in the next three years and how 71% want to start their own businesses yet 52% warn that lack of capital is the biggest barrier they face to achieving this.
Mr Ichikowitz said the findings in the latest edition would challenge governments, institutions, development actors and business leaders alike to think more seriously about power, participation and economic inclusion when it is released in May.
He added: “Young Africans are not asking to be managed. They are asking for a fairer share of power, a real stake in economic systems and a meaningful role in shaping the decisions that will define their futures. The harder work begins now.”
The upcoming Africa Youth Survey 2026 will offer one of the clearest pictures yet of how a rising generation views the continent’s prospects at a time of growing economic pressure, political frustration and geopolitical uncertainty.
The survey covers a wide range of issues including politics and governance, commerce and economic opportunity, security and corruption, , and environment and climate. The Foundation believes the findings will be essential reading for policymakers, investors, civil society leaders, educators and media organisations seeking to understand Africa’s next generation on its own terms.
A new dedicated platform, www.africanyouthsurvey.org, will host the results, key data and supporting background materials when the survey is published.
Embargoed advance materials for journalists will be made available ahead of publication on request.
Media enquiries:
Nico de Klerk
Ichikowitz Family Foundation
nico.deklerk@
+27 (76) 981 0939
Ichikowitz Family Foundation
nico.deklerk@
+27 (76) 981 0939
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About the Ichikowitz Family Foundation
The Ichikowitz Family Foundation is a South Africa-based philanthropic foundation focused on advancing the voices, potential and leadership of Africa’s youth through research, dialogue and strategic engagement.
About the Africa Youth Survey
The Africa Youth Survey is the Foundation’s biennial research initiative examining the attitudes, ambitions and lived realities of young Africans across the continent. Since its launch in 2020, it has become one of the most comprehensive studies of African youth sentiment.
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