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2nd Africa Youth Conference on Democracy and Good Governance

Africa youth must rise up and take part in participatory democracy if they are to change the continent. That was the message delivered to 500 youth in Maputo at the 2nd Africa Youth Conference on Democracy and Good Governance by former South African President H.E Thabo Mbeki. The conference which was convened by the Parlamento Juvenil du Mocambique (Mozambique Youth Parliament) had the theme ‘Africa Beyond 2015’ and focused on strategies young people across Africa can use to effectively engage in implementation and monitoring of development goals. "Being young and irreverent is not all. You need to organize yourselves so that your role can increasingly be significant in combating the ills facing Africa," said Mr Mbeki who spoke during a panel discussion on the legacy and lessons from African leaders. Citing examples of the Young African Students, the African Women's League and other groups that brought together citizens from different countries, Mr Mbeki challenged the youth to organise themselves and come up with a Pan-African Youth body through which they can collectively speak out on issues plaguing the continent.
DRASPAC was represented at the conference by Fredskorpset fellow Christine Sayo who was also among panelists discussing the topic topic "Inclusion of Women and Youth in Politics." Drawing from examples of women in Kenya, Ms Sayo spoke on the challenges as well as opportunities for youth and women in politics. The conference which took place between 21st to 25th September came at a time when the world is witnessing the end of the implementation of Millennium Development Goals that have been replaced by new Sustainable Development Goals.

Comments

  1. Tafadzwa MuropaOctober 1, 2015 at 11:21 PM

    Thank you Christine for sharing with us these insights. Appreciating different youth platforms on the continent stating the same thing, its time to harmonise these initiatives and come up with common positions.But this should start at national level.Youths must be united towards tackling poverty,intolerance,political violence and gender inequality irrespective of one's political affiliation.How do we make the African Youth Charter a living document in our own countries?How do we contribute to economic discourses that focus on reviving our economies? More youth voices in forming alternative economic policies that are people centres are needed now or never.How do we ensure that the youth start to interrogate the #Agenda2063 #Maputo Protocol #AfricanYouthCharter #AfricanCharteronDemocracyElectionsAndGovernance? We owe oursevles to our children and future generations to revive our continent.None but ourselves.

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  2. UnknownOctober 2, 2015 at 1:11 AM

    Thank you Tafadzwa for your feedback! I do agree with you that youth need to first organise themselves at national level before venturing into a pan African movement. In Kenya for instance, we have the National Youth Council whose core mandate is to champion youth interests from grassroot to national level. It would be nice if other countries had the same.
    I am reliably informed that there already is a Pan African Youth Union in place already. I hadnt heard of it before i wrote this article and its my hope that they can get more vocal and make their presence felt across Africa.
    Cheers

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