Liberian youth and upcoming elections.

[Rosen Dimov]

Dear colleagues,

Please find bellow a piece of news conveyed by our fellow counter-corruption activists from Liberia who advocate for more youth involvement in the forthcoming election monitoring. Could we , the GYAC network, think of a way to help them...

To contact the core team of the campaign, please contact

Eddie D. Jarwolo
Executive Director
NAYMOTE Partners for Democratic Development
Mobile:[phone]
Email: [e-mail]

NAYMOTE’s CAMPAIGN: “YOUTH VOTE 2011”

 The  National  Youth  Movement  for  Transparent  Elections-Partners  for  Democratic  Development  joined  other youth activists around  the world  to celebrate  the World Youth
Movement  for  Democracy  Campaign  (WYMD)  on  October  18, 2010.  The  program  brought  together  over  300  students  from five  schools,  including Soltiamon Christian School  system, G.W. Gibson  High  School,  William  V.S.  Tubman  High  School,  St. Peter’s  Lutheran  High  School  and  Calvary  Baptist  High  school. The  campaign  was  held  at  the  Calvary  Baptist  High  School  in Monrovia, under the theme: “Youth Vote 2011 Campaign” This  year’s  celebration  in  Liberia  highlighted  young  people’s roles  in  consolidating  Liberia’s  fragile  democracy  and  raised awareness of  the need  for young people  to  form a common front in defining issues and shaping political outcomes in the face of the coming 2011 presidential and legislative elections
through votes. The celebration also saw the  launched of the organization’s  Civic  Voters  Education  campaign,  where Information  Education  Communication  (IEC) materials were distributed to participants.
 
 
A brief history of the World Youth Movement for Democracy was  read  by  Student  Stephen  K.  Morlu  a  member  of NAYMOTE’s  School  Democracy  Club  from  the  Soltiamon Christian School System; while other members of the Calvary Baptist High  School  dramatized  a  role-play  about democracy, depicting  the perception of  Liberian  citizens hold about democracy and how they can better understand the concept and values.
 
 
 The keynote addressed on the  topic: “2011 Elections, a time to make our voices count through our votes” was delivered  by  the  President  of  the  Federation  of  Liberian  Youth (FLY), Mr. Augustus Zayzay, who reminded youth of their strength through their numbers to determine the leadership of the country by  effectively  registering  and  consciously  voting  in  the  2011 elections.  He  added  that  young  people  make  up  about  66%  of Liberia  population  and  stressed  the  need  for  youths  to  take  the elections  seriously. Mr.  Zazyay  said  because  youth  constitutes  a
lion  share  of  the  population,  they  have  the  ability  to  decide  the leadership of  the country  by the  qualities  of  leaders  they  elect.  He  encouraged  young people  to  use  the  power  of  their  votes  to  get  political leaders  and  institutions  to prioritize  youth concerns,  such as the national youth policy, the African Youth charter and adopt actions to address youth empowerment.
 
In closing, Mr. Zayzay also called on young people to focus mostly  on  the  Legislative  election,  because  they  are responsible to enact  laws  for development of  the country. World Youth Movement for Democracy Campaign 2010 He noted that because much attention has not been placed on the competence of those elected to the legislature, key issues beneficial to youths have gone unattended.
 
The program was graced by key stakeholders in the Liberian Electoral Process, including the Chairman of National Election  Commission,  Hon.  James  Fromoyan,  the  Liberia’s Country  Director  of  Open  Society  Initiative  of  West  Africa (OSIWA),  Mr.  Joe  Pemagbi,  representatives  from  the International  Foundation  for  Electoral  System  (IFES)  and  the National Democratic Institute for  International Affairs  (NDI); all of whom made special remarks during the program.