WYDE Civic Engagement Accountability Hubs
WYDE Civic Engagement Accountability Hubs brings together a group of exceptional young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa in a comprehensive training and networking programme to enhance their skills in ethical and democratic leadership, project management, advocacy and communications and develop pilot actions to put their project ideas into practice with dedicated seed grants.
The Context
As the pressure is mounting on democracy, the rule of law and human rights globally, there is a need to protect and support democracies worldwide.
With half of the world’s population aged under 30, the continued support for democracy is highly dependent on the engagement of young people.
However, young people, particularly those from marginalised groups, are systematically underrepresented in public affairs, including in parliaments, political parties and at the ballot boxes. Economic and educational barriers to youth participation are exacerbated by a lack of information about democratic processes and ways of becoming active citizens.
Youth Inclusion in Democracy & Decision Making
To address democratic challenges and promote youth participation in public affairs, the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) is leading the European Union-funded initiative “WYDE Civic Engagement”.
As members of the EPD, the Kofi Annan Foundation, jointly with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the Oslo Center, are implementing part of the WYDE Civic Engagement initiative, called “Accountability Hubs,” to improve the inclusion of young people in democracy and decision-making.
Given the renewed appeal of authoritarianism in many countries, including in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the importance of positive role models for young people, the Accountability Hubs project aims to identify and support young leaders to work together and come up with innovative solutions to bring more accountability to democratic governance.
Accountability Hubs
Over the project period of 2022-2026, a total of 40 young leaders experienced in working on accountability and youth empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa will be selected through an open and competitive process. 20 young leaders will be selected in 2023, and 20 will be selected in 2024.
The young leaders are brought together in ‘Accountability Hubs’ – in French and in English – and will undergo a comprehensive training and mentoring programme, consisting of both online and in-person activities.
The participants in the Accountability Hubs will jointly devise an ‘Accountability Toolkit’ to empower young people to take an active and effective part in democratic processes in their communities, aiming to improve democratic processes, accountability, anti-corruption efforts, transparency and youth inclusion.
"Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation." - Kofi Annan
From Ideas to Action: Seed grants & training
WYDE Civic Engagement Accountability Hub participants will be able to design pilot actions and apply for grants to put their ideas into practice. The ideas will be developed as part of the training, which includes critical notions of project design, monitoring and evaluation and fundraising.
The participants will also have the opportunity to apply for a seed grant to implement the Accountability Toolkit and train other young people and youth-led organisations in their countries to use the Toolkit.
By bringing their learnings back to their communities, the young leaders will contribute to strengthening their national democratic structures, while anchoring the regional network to already existing national youth networks.
WYDE Civic Engagement Accountability Hubs - Partners
About WYDE Civic Engagement
WYDE Civic Engagement, the Youth Participation in Public Affairs programme of the EU’s Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative aims to improve the enfranchisement, empowerment, and inclusion of youth in all levels of democratic participation at the national, regional and global scales.
WYDE Civic Engagement’s three-pronged approach is informed by the need for youth engagement and inclusion not only at national level, but beyond and above it. With half of the world’s population being under 30, the continued survival of democracy is highly dependent on buy-in and support among its youth.
The Accountability Hubs project is implemented by the Kofi Annan Foundation, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, and The Oslo Center with the aim of improving youth inclusion in democracy and decision-making. The project is one of five projects for WYDE Civic Engagement initiative which is led by the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and implemented by its member organisations.
To learn more about WYDE Civic Engagementvisit the project page on the EPD website
