African youth: The driving force of the continent’s governance
African youth in its wide diversity is under-represented in the decision-making process. This first Youth Day of Africities addressed the way to improve the involvement of African youth to play a decisive role in local governance as well as at the national level.
“We are galvanizing the energy of young elected leaders of Africa to confront these issues of policies that are not conducive to the development of young people. Young people should not shy away to offer themselves for leadership. The young people of Africa should not chicken out to take up the tough route of fighting and ensuring their voices are heard because real decision makers are not just listeners and beneficiaries of the youth programs and pronouncements. Look, at the age of 27 I was able to go through the difficult route of going through an election, defeating old and rich people that are usually greedy and have no vision to transform lives and give us the Africa we want to see and that is why I’m calling upon all youth to not fear because this is their continent and they are to blame if they do not carry the mantle of leadership” said George Mwanza, Mayor Of Chipata in Zambia.
During this day, the question of leveraging the right partnerships in intermediary cities was at the core of the debates. By putting secondary cities at the heart of national urban strategies, national and local leaders will give a second chance to Africa by engaging larger and balanced territories, leaving no one and no place behind.
The City We Need Now! is a manifesto and a campaign towards the Africa we want. This campaign will not stop at summit in Kisumu. Campaigners will continue spreading the word and raising ambitions for African cities towards the 11th session of the World Urban Forum convened by UN-Habitat in Katowice, Poland, from 26 to 30 June 2022, as well as towards the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh from 7 to 18 November 2022.
The campaign will engage the national and sub-national level, regional and local government organizations, civil society and grass roots organizations, urban professionals, researchers, youth and women groups and the media.
On 20 May in the morning, the focus will be on the official opening ceremony of the political segment, marked by the dialogue between former heads of state and young elected officials aged 35 or below leading a local government as mayor or president of a subnational local government.
In the afternoon will held in parallel, the meeting of ministers, the meeting of mayors and leaders of subnational governments, and the meeting of development partners.