Reported by, Nsor Paul mensah.
WANEP Organizes Democracy And Political Transitions In Africa; Harnessing Youth for Change Summit, in Accra-Ghana today 29th June 2022 to Engage young people from different countries, especially from the ECOWAS sub-region, which seems to be the coup bloc at the moment, which serve as a first step of giving a voice to young people, to discuss and share ideas on new thinking to help shape their countries.
The main objective of the summit is to provide space and platform for young people primarily drawn from the ECOWAS region to reflect upon, interrogate, and share their experience and how the region's coups have impacted democratisation and, in effect, their lives.
Also to Dialogue on the implications for the resurgence of military coup in Africa - with a focus on the case studies in ECOWAS and what it means for governance, civic participation and their citizen's role in political transition amidst the coups, to Explore and identity opportunities for young people to contribute to the reversal of the unconstitutional changes in government towards democracy, good governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights.
According to the African Union Special Envoy on Youth, Ms Chido Mpemba, on statement read by Sabina Nforba at the forum, Express that, the continent is now facing a new breed of challenges that require each and every one of us to collaborate, discuss and formulate new strategies.
While regular elections have remained the norm for transfer of power in a majority of African countries, the democratic quality of these elections have been questionable. Contested elections, electoral violence and third term presidential bids are on the rise.
She said these are worrying signs for the future of democracy on the continent Technological advancements and inventions have revolutionized the spread of information across the continent with more and more tools showing up that allow people to further exercise their freedom of expression.
While these advancements are an addition to the pursuit of a free society, governments have found creative ways to clamp down on dissent across these platforms, especially during the pandemic.
More and more governments introduced laws that curtail the freedom of expression, using the pretext of preventing the spread of misinformation.
The pandemic has also exacerbated already existing social inequalities and challenges in service delivery. Welfare systems and healthcare systems which were already ineffective were overwhelmed which further caused citizens to lose confidence in their governments.
While we have been reminded now and again of the demographic superiority of young people on the continent, young people have continually shouldered the impacts of ineffective governance across the continent. Issues like rising costs of living, unstable economies, lack access to health care, education and poor youth participation have plagued young people on the continent, stunting their growth, dreams and aspirations.
While a majority of young people on the continent are, against all odds working towards a better future for our communities, some have not been so lucky. Young people have increasingly become exposed to radicalization and recruitment by extremist groups which prey on their young minds.
If this pattern is to be broken, and reversed, more needs to be done.
Ms Chido noted that, the challenges of poor governance, young people must be meaningfully involved in the implementation and tracking of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063 by being front-line actors,
with the help of the state and non-state actors, we should conduct civic education, provide health care services, shelter, access to education and food.
The youth should actively and meaningfully participate in politics, become entrepreneurs and fully exploit the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, become advocates for good governance, and build the spirit of volunteerism and community. It is only through these actions that youth participation can be effective.
She said the Youth are capable of boosting the economic development of Africa. We should therefore champion good governance, starting from local communities to regional communities and the continent at large.
It is for this profound reason that my office will be embarking on a 60-day Engagement Tour across member states to meet with the youth, discuss challenges that plague our beloved continent and together, brainstorm on practical solutions that will be deployed accordingly.
I am happy to announce that we will kick off this Engagement Tour right here in Accra from July 8th.
The time has come when African youth must change from being the abused and disenchanted to being the drivers of social cohesion and economic development. And that time is now.