Accountability Hubs - Women & Youth in Democracy
Women and Youth in (WYDE) – Improving inclusion in democracy & decision-making.
Women and Youth in (WYDE) is bringing together 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.
NOTE: The deadline for nominations for the Accountability Hubs has now passed. Due to the great number of nominations received, we are unfortunately only able to contact the shortlisted candidates.
The Context
Women and Youth in (WYDE) is bringing together 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.
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 project “Women and Youth in Democracy”.
As members of the EPD, the Kofi Annan Foundation, jointly with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the Oslo Center, are implementing the third pillar of this project, “Accountability Hubs,” which aims 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.
Key Activities
Over the project period of 2022-2026, 40 young leaders experienced in working on accountability and youth empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa will be selected through an open and competitive process. The young leaders are brought together in ‘Accountability Hubs’ – in French and one 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.
From Ideas to Action: Seed grants & training
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.
Accountability Hub - Partners
About the Women and Youth in Democracy (WYDE) Initiative
The Youth Participation in Public Affairs programme of the EU’s Women and Youth in Democracy Initiative (WYDE) aims to improve the enfranchisement, empowerment, and inclusion of youth in all levels of democratic participation at the national, regional and global scales.
WYDE Youth’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 being implemented by the Kofi Annan Foundation, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, and The Oslo Center aim to improve youth inclusion in democracy and decision-making. The project is one of five projects for WYDE led by the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and implemented by its member organisations.
