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This was the overarching question that formed an esteemed panel of young leaders, including The Youth Cafe’s Executive Director, at the recently conducted online conference under the theme of COVID-19 & DEMOCRACY IN EAST AFRICA CONFERENCE from 19-20 November 2020. The conference was organized by The Kofi Annan Foundation, in collaboration with the Society for International Development (SID), with the support of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), to host an online conference on exploring the state of democracy in East Africa in the context of the coronavirus pandemic – what challenges is the region facing and what opportunities could be identified particularly when it comes to protecting voters and protecting the vote?
The keynote speech was addressed by H.E. President Goodluck Jonathan, former President of Nigeria and Chair of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, and Graça Machel, International advocate for women’s and children’s rights, former freedom fighter, and first Education Minister of Mozambique. Some of the panelists include Akua Gyekye, Strategic Response, Regional Program Manager EMEA, Africa, and MENA Elections, Facebook and Nicholas Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy, University of Birmingham Fellow of the Institute for Global Innovation - UK among other notable panelists. Are you interested to know other keynote speakers? Explore them. Visit Kofi Annan Foundation youtube channel, to watch full conference recording.
How can young people understand and engage in the electoral processes in the region, increase their participation in elections, and be able to verify information from different social media platforms? Studies have shown that voter turnout tends to be significantly lower among the youth than the elderly population. The Youth Cafe’s overarching goal around youth inclusion in politics is to increase the number of informed youth participating in the upcoming 2022 elections in Kenya, as well as increased participation of marginalized groups like women in the elections. The objectives of our programming on youth and the 2022 elections include to: Increase Kenyan youth participation in the 2022, and later, elections through re-introducing them to the democratic participation tools that they have at their disposal and encouraging them to more actively take part in electoral processes. Create long-term, evidence-based, social media strategies, and in-person training curriculum materials that will incorporate comprehensive civic education for Kenyan youth on democratic processes and then better understand their democratic and civic rights. Develop education approaches on voting rights and the roles of youth in peaceful elections through advocacy campaigns, whereby youth lobby for 2022 Kenya elections that are violence-free and not manipulated through social media.
Kenyan youth have been disconnected and disengaged with political processes and electoral participation, and this has caused widespread apathy among young voters. Research before the 2017 elections shows that the majority of Kenyan youth show up in polling stations clueless about the impact of the exercise they are about to carry out. They do not have access to sufficient civic education resources; they do not understand the dynamics of voting. Poor and unjust systems have resulted in Kenyan youth feeling detached from the entire system. Further, the political landscape in Kenya has not been very accommodating to young voters as it is full of ethnic balkanization and divisions that often cause youth to turn away.
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