Patrick Kulati, CEO of Good Governance Africa.
The Young Advocates for Good Governance Programme will mobilise more than a million young Africans to enhance democratic participation
Good Governance Africa (GGA) is set to tackle the growing disaffection and lack of engagement with democracy across the continent through the launch of its Young Advocates for Good Governance Programme.
The programme aims to inspire, mobilise and train over a million people in Africa, particularly the youth, to become non-partisan advocates for good governance, both between and within election cycles.
GGA, established in 2014 by chairperson Robert Rose, is an independent pan-African non-profit organisation with offices in South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia, and is in the process of expanding to more countries on the African continent. The organisation focuses on identifying governance deficiencies, providing solutions and promoting good governance. With a vision of an empowered Africa in which governments are effective, businesses thrive and poverty is eradicated, GGA strives to be a leading partner in advancing good governance.
The Young Advocates for Good Governance Programme will first be implemented in South Africa before expanding to at least six other African countries. This expansion will address the growing disconnect between highly regarded democratic institutions and youthful citizens who are increasingly disenchanted with democracy.
The Young Advocates for Good Governance Programme has four core objectives:
- Mobilise and empower African citizens, especially young people, to participate and become advocates for good and democratic governance. The goal is to recruit one million young people by 2029.
- Educate and train governance advocates on good governance principles and how good governance can contribute to the improvement of citizens’ lives in Africa.
- Create a rigorous method to increase youth citizen engagement in elections by motivating higher voter registration and turnout rates, as well as civic participation in their national and local governance structures.
- Better inform young citizens about existing accountability mechanisms and encourage the development of new and additional mechanisms.
- Work with partners to create a training programme, available both online and in person, tailored to each “young citizen advocate”.
The programme aims to achieve these outcomes by:
- Raising youth citizenship engagement to five times the current levels;
- Creating networks among young people participating in the project;
- Engaging other organisations that can absorb young people for internships and job opportunities;
- Creating opportunities for exchanges with other institutions within the African continent and the world;
- Developing a best practice template for mobilising young people to enhance democratic participation;
- Ensuring that 70% of young citizens in targeted regions fully participate in democratic activities;
- Informing policy directions for local election institutions on voter education;
- Influencing policy and practice at national and continental levels; and
- Partnering with like-minded organisations.
Monitoring, evaluation, and learning
From the outset, GGA will implement a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning system to measure the impact of the project. This includes assessing changes in citizen engagement during and between elections, and providing detailed insights to project funders and partners.
Between elections, we will assess our efforts through pre-intervention and post-intervention representative community surveys. By doing this, we will be able to provide project funders and partners with granular insights into the efficacy of our interventions, and in a manner that best enables the Young Advocates for Good Governance to scale up.
GGA’s expertise
GGA brings significant expertise to the Young Advocates for Good Governance Programme, including:
- Conducting high-quality research to influence policy shifts and solve challenges related to environmental degradation, climate change, under-development and youth unemployment.
- Using the Governance Performance Index (GPI) to assess local government performance.
- Publishing thought leadership articles and facilitating public engagements and dialogues on governance issues.
As GGA prepares to launch the Young Advocates for Good Governance Programme, the organisation remains committed to its mission of improving citizens’ lives through effective governance and strategic partnerships. This ambitious programme is set to create a lasting impact on the democratic landscape of Africa.
How can people participate?
- GGA will create an online form where those interested can register;
- GGA will respond to all those registered; and
- GGA will have ongoing communications concerning upcoming events.
For more information, visit our website at www.gga.org