Feeling excluded from formal politics, young Lebanese have united with a new spirit of national identity and support for more responsive governance. Credit: Mohammad El Sabeh
Feeling excluded from formal politics, young Lebanese have united with a new spirit of national identity and support for more responsive governance.
2Baba participates in the Peace Concert in Bayelsa ahead of the state elections.
Election-related violence is a major challenge that Nigeria has been grappling with for a while now. Election related deaths have robbed many citizens of their lives, particularly youth, who have played dual roles as perpetrators and victims.
NDI's DC office celebrates Pride Month 2019.
In this DemWorks video, we honor Pride Month 2019, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising—often referred to as the birth of the modern LGBTI movement. Today, we are speaking with Reverend Ecclesia Delange, executive director of Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM). IAM works to help churches accept and support LGBTI individuals in eight African nations, by working at the intersection of gender, sexual orientation, health and religion.
“Challengers” conducting a Get Out the Vote Campaign in Moldova
“What is the local issue most important to you?”
“What is the national issue most important to you?”
“What qualities are you looking for in your member of parliament?”
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The author with university students
Freedom, equality and solidarity should not just be a catchphrase, but a guaranteed right to all citizens. After the horrifying events survived by today’s youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we learned the most valuable lesson: don't hate. In the country where war memories are still fresh, there are young people who do not want that to ever happen again. And at a very young age, I learned that I am equal and can determine my future. Following the return from my studies, I knew things were not how I wanted them to be in BiH. I didn’t like the fact that we are divided, that the unemployment rate is high and that only a few opportunities for youth exist. While some people tend to let things go and wait to see what happens, I did not want to be observer. I wanted to be a participant. I became involved in politics to stand up and make a change.
For more than three decades, NDI has supported political party youth wings as a means of engaging young people in formal politics. Youth wings are semi-independent bodies within a political party. Although structures differ, most youth wings have an established age for membership (e.g., 16-35), work to initiate young people into party politics and strengthen a party’s ability to address youth-specific policy issues – among other core functions. Organized youth wings, across party systems, are indicative of an important minority of young people trying to satisfy political aspirations through political party involvement. Youth wings can be a source of creativity and dynamism within a political party and are enabled when they have opportunities to shape party policies and participate in decision making.
In honor of International Youth Day 2018 let’s discuss the importance of safe spaces for youth political agency and participation. Safe spaces can mean formal or informal spaces in which young people feel emotionally and physically safe, and can exist without discrimination for who they are or what they believe. While these spaces are formed for a variety of reasons, creating safe civic and political spaces can help young people securely participate in political processes, interact with political institutions and engage more meaningfully with decision-makers.
Happy International Youth Day! I remember watching President John F. Kennedy’s 1960 inaugural address. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” he said. As a teenager, those words had a profound impact on me, and they still resonate today. Most people who dedicate their lives to public service can tell a similar story of inspiration -- an epiphany that drove them to change their communities for the better. But going from inspiration to action can be daunting. Many young people who are inspired to make a mark on their communities don’t feel like they have the support or know-how to get started.
Today’s youth are at a critical juncture. The current young generation - the largest in global history - is disproportionately affected by unemployment, insufficient access to education, violent conflict and a number of other challenges. Eager to play a role in changing their communities and nations for the better, many young people have become frustrated with political processes that seem out of reach, out of touch and ineffective, and have since turned to other ways to give back to their communities. To encourage youth to “opt-in” to the state, governments need to give them more than a seat at the table to address matters affecting their lives. Failure to do so may further widen the growing rift between youth and political institutions, and make youth more vulnerable to recruitment by extremist groups.